Are you a single mother who is trying to make a fresh start, but is having difficulty figuring out how you will tend to your children while attending school or completing a job search? If so, you may be able to get the assistance you need through a nonprofit program called Safe Families for Children.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, the Safe Families for Children program has already helped hundreds of single mothers get the break they need from childrearing so they can get their lives back on track so they can provide a happier, healthier and safer home for their children.

With the help of the program, children are placed with volunteer families on a temporary basis. Unlike foster care, which is set up through state welfare agencies, the Safe Families for Children program does not involve the court system at all. In addition, mothers are free to meet and approve of the caretakers who provide a home for their children and they are welcome to visit with their children at any time.

While some critics maintain that children should not be removed from their homes unless abuse is evident, others praise the program for helping to prevent abuse and neglect while also helping to give families a new lease on life.

“It’s consistent with the whole movement in child-welfare agencies to find a broader range of responses for families in need,” said Mark Courtney, a family expert at the University of Washington, in the New York Times article.

Those women who have participated in the program agree that it has been a real life changer. 51-year-old Brenda Bailey, for example, took several handfuls of Valium after being diagnosed with lung disease and losing the lease on her home. After moving into a shelter with her three children, she had decided they would be better off without her. When she woke up the next morning, it was the wake up call she needed to make a change. With the help of the Safe Families and Children program, she has been able to find alternative homes for her children while she gets her life back together.

25-year-old Janai Parahams is another success story. With no family support and no job, she was finding it difficult to raise her four small children after fleeing an abusive relationship. Thanks to the Safe Families and Children program, she was able to take a month to finish a job preparation course and land a job with the Census Bureau. Three days after getting her job, her children were able to move back in with her in her new home.

Founded in Chicago five years ago, the Safe Families and Children program has spread rapidly into other states around the country. In fact, similar programs are no found in Georgia, Tennessee, Iowa, California, Wisconsin and Indiana. Though the legalities of the programs are slightly different from one state to the next, the programs all have the backing and support of the state welfare agencies. Some also receive some funding through their respective states, though the assistance is minimal. In Chicago, for example, the program receives about $100,000 through the state. The remaining $250,000 in administrative costs needed to fund the program are raised through churches and the families you take the children into their homes receive no compensation. According to program officials, if the 1,000 children the program expects to place this year were to end up in foster care instead, it would cost the taxpayers millions of dollars.