Project Description:
The Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children was created in 1988 to address the problems of children whose lives and life chances are affected by the New York State court system. Commission members include judges, lawyers, state and local officials, legislators, social service providers, child development specialists and social scientists.
The Babies Can't Wait Project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was developed to address the Commission's concern about the well-being of a growing cohort of infants in the child welfare system. At present, infants have the greatest risk to enter, remain in, and/or re-enter foster care. These young children are among the most vulnerable in the country. Research nationwide reveals that more than half have serious physical health problems, yet a significant number do not receive basic, or continuous, health care. More than 50% of infants and young children in foster care have developmental delays and/or significant emotional or behavioral problems, vulnerabilities that till now have not been at the forefront of case management on the part of child welfare personnel, law guardians, or family court judges. And, despite compelling research on the importance of early experiences on child development, few infants are linked to early intervention and early childhood services.
The goals of the Babies Can't Wait Project are to spotlight the particular health and developmental needs of young children in foster care, to ensure expedient and successful permanency planning, and to make it the responsibility of all decision makers in the child welfare and court systems to inquire about the child's health and developmental status, and to connect infants and parents to evaluation, intervention, and support services as needed. The project had the following components in which members of the CERC faculty were partners with the Commission:
1.The design and implementation of a training series for court and child welfare personnel, including judges, court attorneys, ACS personnel, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and law guardians for children.
Included are the following presentations:
Understanding the Health Care Needs of Infants
Understanding Infant Development
Understanding the Emotional Needs of Infants
Accessing Early Intervention and Other Early Childhood Programs
Practical Application of Previous Trainings through Case Discussions
2.The development of an Infant Health and Development Checklist for use by CASA workers, judges, and law guardians to ensure that information related to the health and development of infants is obtained and recorded, and that this information guides the recommendations and decisions made by court and child welfare personnel.
3.Planning and implementation of monthly Child Development Clinics in Bronx Family Court during which a child development specialist is available for consultation on cases as a follow-up to the lecture series.
As the project concludes, two developments will promote systemic change.
A. The Administration for Children's Services has convened meetings to explore how ACS policies and practices (e.g., those related to initial placements) might be modified based on the special needs of infants.
B. A new task force has been formed in the Bronx, consisting of family court judges, child development specialists, and child welfare personnel to continue the collaboration between legal and child development specialists on behalf of infants and young children in foster care.
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Technical Assistance and/or Training, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Child Care-Related Activities, Health-Related Activities, Housing-Related Activities, Recreation-Related Activities, Quality of Life
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Urban
