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Jul 01, 2023

Lawmakers Look to Increase Infant

Federal lawmakers have re-introduced a bill to increase the number of specialized teams serving infants and toddlers in child welfare court. The bill was originally introduced in 2021 . The

Federal lawmakers have re-introduced a bill to increase the number of specialized teams serving infants and toddlers in child welfare court. The bill was originally introduced in 2021.

The Strengthening American Families Act would provide seed money to help communities develop Infant-Toddler Court Teams (ITCTs), community-based collaborations led by judges to address the unique needs of babies and help strengthen their families.

The aim is to reduce the amount of time babies and toddlers spend in foster care separated from their families and provide age-specific, trauma-informed care to those who have experienced abuse and neglect. These children are more vulnerable to the negative effects associated both with maltreatment and family separation.

“Because of their rapid brain development, young children who experience maltreatment — and too often the instability of life in foster care — have a high likelihood of significant and detrimental impacts on their emotional and cognitive development, with lasting effects,” a fact sheet on the bill states.

Infant-Toddler Court Teams bring a coordinated response to child welfare cases involving babies. A team will usually include judges, child welfare leaders and other experts, and is typically staffed by a nonprofit provider in the community. The team works on targeted interventions and solutions for the baby and his or her family, and also uses periodic case review to shape local policy.

There are currently 101 ITCT sites in 30 states, according to a press release. SAFA aims to expand that network by granting seed money and providing training and technical assistance to communities across the country to establish ITCTs. The teams will have frequent family interactions to match babies’ rapid development, establish community coordinators to anchor teams and act as liaisons to judges and child welfare officials, facilitate access to services to address existing gaps, and collect data for real-time case monitoring as well as evaluation.

Bill authors Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) note in the press release that children under age 3 account for a third of those entering foster care, and that these young children are between two and four times more likely to experience abuse and neglect.

The bill proposes putting $25 million annually into the program for the next four years. Grant terms will last three years at a minimum and can be extended once for up to eight years. Funded projects would have to prioritize efforts to prevent any involvement with the child welfare system and, for families with open cases, focus on in-home interventions to prevent removal into foster care.

The bill also specifies setting aside some of the funding to create a National Infant-Toddler Court Team Resource Center to provide training and technical assistance and facilitate data collection and peer learning opportunities.

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A fact sheet compiled by Zero to Three, a membership organization of child development professionals, extolled the virtues of the ITCT model: rates of subsequent maltreatment are far lower than average for children who have an ITCT working their case, and 98% of children reach permanency within one year, compared to a national average of just 18.6% for children who don’t have access to this resource. They’ve also been found to save public coffers as much as $14,000 for each case they’re applied to.

“ITCTs have a proven track record of success, and I want to ensure all abused children have the benefit of accessing this highly effective resource,” Bilirakis said in the press release.

Sara Tiano is a senior reporter for The Imprint.

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