Our Program Model

1. Serve the Most Vulnerable Children

Faithful Friends identifies high-risk children based on risk factors determined by research to be most predictive of serious, long-term negative outcomes. We select children for our program who are most in danger of school failure, abuse and neglect, teenage pregnancy, and criminal behavior.

2. Create and Sustain One-On-One Relationships

Research indicates that the single most important factor that fosters resiliency in high-risk children is a caring and consistent relationship with an adult. Faithful Friends provides each child in our program with a Christian adult role model, called a Friend, who is committed to building a loving, nurturing relationship through quality time spent one-on-one with each child.

3. Early Intervention

A Friend enters a child’s life by the age of six, working with them beginning in kindergarten, before negative behaviors have become ingrained. Early intervention enables a Friend to model and instill positive behaviors while a child’s heart and mind are open.

4. Long-Term Commitment

We are committed to providing each child a Friend for over 12 years – from kindergarten through their high school graduation. As long as that child lives within our service area, we are committed to serving that child. We will be there for them each step along the way.

5. Employ Professionals

Friends are full-time, trained, paid professionals who are hired for their education, experience, talent, and heart for working with high-risk children. They are the heart of our program.

6. Maintain Manageable Numbers

Each Friend works with no more than eight children. This allows the Friends to give each child his or her full attention for at least four hours every week.

7. Strengths Focused

Our children will succeed. Because we believe in them, they will grow to believe in themselves. Our attainable expectations include individualized plans for success, based on each child’s unique needs, abilities, and gifts.

8. Experiences = Opportunities

We help our children reach their potential by utilizing quality, meaningful experiences to explore and develop specific talents and interests, and to teach vital relationship and life skills.

9. Comprehensive Approach

We attend to each child’s total environment...family, school, neighborhood, and community. We provide services and/or resources for youth and caregivers in the areas of physical and mental health care, academic support, substance abuse, and basic needs.

10. Evaluate and Improve

We contract with independent, third party evaluators to provide us feedback and program assessment and to measure the success of Faithful Friends based on significant outcomes.