This article highlights a pilot program in Wisconsin Department of Children and Families called Wisconsin Family Keys, which provided modest financial assistance for rent and housing support to families at risk of losing their children due to housing instability, and as a result successfully kept children safely in their homes, reducing removals by 33 percent during the Covid-era eviction moratorium. By addressing root causes like inadequate housing rather than treating housing insecurity as a parental “deficit,” the pilot suggests a less traumatic, less costly alternative to removing children — challenging the traditional child welfare model that often relies on foster care and institutionalization when families face economic hardship.