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WHAT IS BEST FOR BABIES? Advocating for infants and toddlers in foster care

Get practical ideas on how to advocate for infants and toddlers as a CASA, learn about national data on infants and toddlers in care, understand infant brain development and attachment, and discover what courts are doing to address the unique needs of infants and toddlers in foster care.

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WHAT IS BEST FOR BABIES? Advocating for infants and toddlers in foster care

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  1. WHAT IS BEST FOR BABIES?Advocating for infants and toddlers in foster care Sally Mednansky & Whitney Miller Pierce County Juvenile Court November 4, 2017

  2. What will I leave with? • Practical ideas on what you can do as a CASA to best advocate for infants and toddlers. • An overview of national data on infants and toddlers in care. • Info on infant brain development, attachment, and WHY all of this matters. • Info on what Courts across the US are doing to address the unique needs of infants and toddlers in foster care – including what is happening in your own backyard. • A personal story from a mom who successfully reunified with her baby. • A chance to ask questions and share thoughts/ideas.

  3. ZERO TO THREE- DATA • Nationally, 1/3 of all children entering foster care are age birth to 3 years old • Infants and toddlers remain in placement twice as long as older children • 81.6% of child fatalities occur under age 4 • Infants and toddlers have a lower rate of reunification • Developmental delays are 4-5X greater than children in the general population • More than half suffer from serious physical health problems

  4. ZERO TO THREE – Safe Babies Court Team Model • There are 12 Core Components to this model • Judicial leadership – more frequent review hearings • Active team focused on the BIG picture • Coordinated and timely services for babies • Attention to attachment • Focus on healthy brain development • Placement and concurrent planning • Increased family time AKA visitation • Regular Community Advisory Team staffings to foster collaboration

  5. Outcomes for children • Research shows that children served by the Safe Babies Court Teams exited the foster care system approximately 1 year earlier than children in the comparison group. • Children are more likely to reach permanency with a member of their biological family (relative placement). • Reunification was the most common exit type for Court Team children (38%), while adoption was the most typical for the comparison group (41%). • Including relative care, 62.4% of children ended up with family members while only 37.7 of the comparison group did. Independent evaluation undertaken by James Bell Associates (JBA) with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  6. SAFE BABIES COURT TEAM VIDEO ZTT Safe Babies Court Team's Video can be ordered here

  7. Stats on infants in foster care • 80% are prenatally exposed to illegal drugs and/or alcohol and experience toxic stress in utero • 40% are born at low birth weight • 48% are seriously physically neglected • Have longer stays in foster care and least likely to be reunified • Most likely to return to care within two years because of re-abuse • Likely to enter the Juvenile Court System, suffer from chronic illness, and have insecure attachment NSCAW, One Year in Foster Care (OYFC)) Wave 1 Data Analysis Report DES Baby Summit, July, 2011, CFSR Chapin Hall, University of Chicago 2011 Wulczyn, F. & Hislop, K. Babies in Foster Care: The Numbers Call for Attention, Zero to Three Journal (22), 4, 14 -1

  8. What is happening in WA State? • 33% of child fatalities in Washington State are children 11 months and younger • In 2016 – 2,108 children under the age of 3 came into care • The current projection for 2017 is 2,655 That makes up 43% of children in care

  9. It’s ALL about Infant Brain Development • It’s not just the numbers that should give us pause but the fact that very young children are at such a critical point developmentally – the way a baby is treated in the first 1000 days has a significant lifelong impact, either good or bad. • The infant brain develops at an incredible speed – 700 new neural connections are formed every minute from birth to 6 months old! BRAIN BUILDERS VIDEO

  10. Pierce County’s Baby Court • Rolled out in October 2016 lead by Judge John Hickman • Team approach – AAG’s, dedicated Baby Court SW, parent attorneys, CASAs who are specially trained regarding the special needs of infants and toddlers • Active Community Advisory Team • Case outcomes • 3 reunifications at 8 months, 9 months, 10 months from start to case closure • 2 babies legally free (at 12 months and 15 months) both in relative care adoption pending

  11. What can I do as a CASA? • Ensure that children age 0-3 have a Birth to Three evaluation referred and that the recommendations are followed up on. • There is a federal mandate for these services under Pact C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • It requires each state to develop “provisions and procedures for referral of a child under age 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect to early intervention services.”

  12. What can I do as a CASA? • Explore the early learning options in your community. • Early Head Start, Head Start, and ECEAP can all be great resources for children and their families. Best of all our children qualify and it is FREE! • Local libraries often offer FREE resources for babies and toddlers – Story Times, Baby Books, a place to hold visitation.

  13. What can I do as a CASA? • Advocate for increased family time. • For every additional day per week that family time takes place, reunification is 3X more likely • A major problem for infants in care is the lack of ongoing parent-child contact • Maintaining and healing attachments with parents is critical for young children and should be as frequent as possible • Therapeutic visitation should be considered when there is a history of injury, failure to thrive, or sexual abuse • Other IDEAS – Skype, Face Time, voice recordings of a story, lots of picture sharing, journal

  14. What can I do as a CASA? • Ask for an evidence based parenting program to be placed in visits right away. • Safe Babies Court Team Model recommends Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) • Promoting First Relationships, Infant/Toddler Incredible Years are alternatives that are used if CPP is not available

  15. What can I do as a CASA? • Relative care? ASK! And follow up. • A relative search is automatically initiated by the Department. As CASAs we can ask for information regarding the relative search – who was contacted and who responded? • Ask parents or other people connected to the child if there is anyone THEY know who would be willing to be a support or placement for the child.

  16. What can I do as a CASA? • Ensure infant attachment needs are at the forefront in placement decisions • When a baby faces a change in placement, fragile relationships with foster parents are severed reinforcing feelings of abandonment and distrust • Trust can be re-established over time with loving care and stability • Plan out transitions and consider the impact on the child • Attachment CAN be transferred

  17. What can I do as a CASA? • Families need concrete supports in times of need. • Consider hosting a diaper drive! Collect diapers and wipes that are available for CASAs/GALs to take to their families. • Ask the family who their supports are! • Ensuring the baby is connected with WIC • Is the family connected with a Public Heath Nurse, Parent for Parent (or parent ally), or PCAP? Families need REAL supports that when they call on, they will answer. We help build these supports by connecting families to their community.

  18. What can I do as a CASA? • Honor the parents personal journeyby recognizing the overwhelming odds confronting them • Parents who maltreat their children are likely to have been raised in families where they themselves were maltreated • It is important to understand parents early experiences and to help support them in their parenting role • Be open and transparent

  19. Jacey and Jackson’s Story • http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article167237222.html

  20. Final thoughts… • The Safe Babies Court Team Model is a systems change initiative, and change is HARD. • We can’t do everything but we can do something! • It takes a village…but a competent village.

  21. References & Contact US! • Whitney Miller, Best for Babies CASA Coordinator 253-798-7882 wmille2@co.pierce.wa.us • Sally Mednansky, Court Improvement Coordinator 253-798-7952 smednan@co.pierce.wa.us

  22. References & Resources • ZERO TO THREE Safe Babies Court Teams Project www.zerotothree.org/courtteams • Center on the Developing Child Harvard University https://developingchild.harvard.edu/ • A great resource for parents and caregivers! The VROOM App can be downloaded onto a smart phone. It provides daily tips on how to promote brain development and attachment with your child (based on the child’s age) through “every day” activities. http://www.joinvroom.org/

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