Many families face challenges that put them at risk of separation.
Family is the foundation of a child’s safety, wellbeing, and development. Yet across Australia and around the world, poverty, housing instability, domestic violence, or a lack of support can all lead to children being removed from their homes.
Family preservation programs exist to prevent this outcome. By strengthening families and helping them overcome difficulties, these services keep children safe while protecting their right to grow up in a loving home.
What is family preservation and why does it matter?
Family preservation programs are designed to prevent child removal and provide families with the tools and support they need to stay together. These services often include counselling, parenting programs, crisis assistance, and access to local resources.
This matters because decades of research shows that children thrive best in safe family environments. When children are separated unnecessarily, they face higher risks of emotional trauma, disrupted education, and long-term disadvantage. By focusing on child welfare and family support, family preservation programs ensure kids are nurtured, protected, and given the best chance to succeed.
How Save the Children supports families to stay together
Through our work as a family reunification charity, Save the Children provides a range of programs that put families first.
In New South Wales, our Family Connect and Support service helps families experiencing stress (whether it’s financial pressures, housing instability, or relationship breakdown) to connect with the right local supports before issues escalate. In Indonesia, our Families First program reformed child protection systems to shift the focus away from orphanages and towards community and family care, reuniting children with parents and strengthening local welfare systems.
By investing in both crisis response and long-term prevention, we provide family support programs in Australia and overseas that put children’s best interests at the centre. This includes reunification services for families who have been separated, helping children return safely home whenever possible.
Promoting community-led and culturally safe approaches
Every family is unique, and effective support must reflect cultural, community, and individual needs. Our teams work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to deliver family-first services that respect culture, Country, and kinship ties. We welcome families of all cultures and languages into our programs, ensuring no one feels excluded.
Community-led design means listening first, building on family strengths, and co-creating solutions that keep children safe at home. When families feel understood and supported in ways that reflect their culture and identity, they are far more likely to engage and succeed.
Addressing systemic issues that contribute to family separation
It’s not only individual challenges that threaten families, broader systemic issues play a major role:
- Poverty, unemployment, and housing insecurity can push parents to crisis points.
- Lack of access to quality health and education services makes it harder to provide a stable home.
- Weak child protection systems, especially in low-income countries, leave families without the safety nets they need.
As a child protection charity, Save the Children advocates for policy change and stronger welfare systems, so families are supported before they reach breaking point. This approach reduces the need for removals and ensures children’s rights are upheld.
Success stories: When families get the support they need
In Indonesia, Dina* once felt forced to place her son Edi* in an orphanage when money ran out.
“I felt I had to put Edi in an institution – not to be abandoned, but left there for a while, so I can bring him home in the future,” said Dina. With the support of Save the Children’s social workers, Dina was able to reunite with her son. “When I went to the orphanage to take Edi home, I was so happy … he and I bonded immediately and we didn’t want to be apart from each other anymore”.
In Australia, families connected to our Family Connect and Support service have been able to access counselling, housing support, and parenting help before crises escalated. By receiving the right support at the right time, many families have stayed together, stronger than before.
With the right programs, families can overcome incredible challenges, and children can grow up where they belong.
How you can help keep families together
Family preservation programs work, but they need strong community and donor support to reach more families. Together, we can build a future where no child is unnecessarily separated from their parents.
With your help, families can stay strong, and children can grow up where they truly belong. Here’s how you can help:
- Share stories like this one that highlight why it’s important to prevent child removal.
- Advocate for policies that invest in family support programs Australia wide and globally.
- Support charities that keep families together, like Save the Children, by making a donation that will help ensure every child grows up safe, loved, and connected to family.