What is SAFE?

Adequate sleep is critical for growth and development during early childhood. Unfortunately, foster caregivers typically receive little to no information about healthy sleep in children or how to effectively manage the many types of sleep problems children in foster care experience. Sleep and Adjustment in Foster Environments (SAFE) was developed to fill this gap in care. 

SAFE is a brief, trauma-informed, behavioral intervention developed to meet the unique needs of children living in or adopted from foster care to help them thrive across all aspects of their lives. SAFE incorporates evidence-based behavioral sleep practices with a trauma-informed approach to care that places emphasis on calm environments, consistent routines, and children’s connection with their caregivers to facilitate better sleep. 

The 4-session SAFE intervention uses child-friendly language, examples, and exercises to help families better understand and address child sleep problems. SAFE content includes education about why healthy sleep is so important for children, age-appropriate sleep patterns, how nighttime sleep impacts daytime emotion and behavior, and child-focused strategies to reduce nighttime fear and arousal.