When you hear the word Homebuilders, you might picture toolbelts, ladders, and roof repairs. And while someone on our team might know their way around a toolbox (I, Teyara, cannot personally fix your floorboards!), that’s not what we build.
Instead, we build stability and resilience. We build stronger families.
What Is HOMEBUILDERS®?
Established in 1974, the HOMEBUILDERS Program is the oldest Intensive Family Preservation Service in the country. Though simple, our mission is powerful: prevent children from being placed in foster care by helping families safely stay together.
We serve families with children from birth to 17 years old, working intensively with them during times of crisis to reduce immediate safety risks and create lasting change.
What It Means to Be a Homebuilder
Behind every success story are Specialists who walk closely with families during some of their hardest moments. Here’s what two members of our team shared about their experience:
“A Better Path Is Accessible”
One Specialist reflected on how personal experience shaped their passion for this work:
“HOMEBUILDERS has been quite an experience for me. My childhood was laced with trauma, and I sometimes lived with people unrelated to me by DNA. So, I know how a child can be torn apart and tormented by instability.
HOMEBUILDERS has taught me how to teach families a different way to meet their family needs. Sometimes caregivers just do not know a safe way to raise a family, or that there are resources available to help get their children to the doctor, or to help them get their electricity on and food on the table. You can’t help what you don’t know.
I love being able to work with a family, get to know them, and teach them that even though they may have had a rough path that led to HOMEBUILDERS, a better path is accessible to them.”
“Walking Alongside Families”
Another team member shared:
“Being a Homebuilder isn’t just a job, it’s about walking alongside families and planting seeds for lasting change. I’ve been a Homebuilder for 1 year and 8 months, spending 28 days getting to know each family, listening to their challenges, learning their strengths, and teaching skills that help them thrive.
My role is about keeping children safe in the home and preventing them from being removed, being someone the family can trust, and showing up when it matters. Being a Homebuilder means helping families stay together, celebrating their resilience, and helping them see the strengths they already have to build a brighter, healthier future.”
How the Program Works
HOMEBUILDERS is an intensive, short-term intervention designed to create immediate safety and long-term stability.
- Families work with a Specialist for 10 hours a week
- Services last 28 days
- That’s a total of 40 hours of focused, hands-on support
- Services take place in the family’s natural environment, where safety risks are present
- Together, the family and the specialist identify and work toward goals that reduce the risk of harm to children.
This program isn’t office-based counseling. It is real-life support, in real time, in real homes.
The Impact We’re Making
The results speak for themselves.
- In 2025, we completed services with 34 families
- We safely prevented 77 children from entering foster care
- As of April 2025, we have a 97% success rate in preventing placement
Every number represents a child who stayed home.
What Families Are Facing
Since 2021, we have supported families navigating:
- Domestic violence
- Homelessness
- Substance use
- Mental health concerns
- Truancy
- Transportation barriers
- Neglect and home management challenges
Rather than offering advice, we offer action.
We help families:
- Clean and stabilize their homes
- Secure housing
- Connect to community resources
- Attend Child and Family Team Meetings
- Understand trauma and its effects
- Access tangible necessities like clothing, food, and school supplies
We also teach discipline techniques as part of the program, while also supporting families with interviewing skills, obtaining employment, supporting educational goals, and coping skills. We help families learn parenting skills, such as hands-off discipline and appropriate communication, as well as life skills, including budgeting, and appropriately coping with life stressors. Because safety isn’t about supervision – it’s about stability.
You Can’t Help What You Don’t Know
Sometimes families are in crisis not because they don’t care—but because they don’t know what resources exist or what safer alternatives look like. HOMEBUILDERS meets families without judgment and equips them with the tools, knowledge, and support they need.
We don’t install new windows. We don’t repair roofs.
We help families rebuild trust. We help caregivers strengthen skills. We help children stay where they belong – home.
We believe in the kind of building that lasts a lifetime.
