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home :: public policy :: child welfare Printer Friendly Version Recommend This Article

 
Child Welfare 

The Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide includes an issue brief on child welfare. To access the brief and the complete toolkit, click here.

Baby Matters: A Gateway to State Policies and Initiatives is a searchable database that contains information on state policies and initiatives that impact infants, toddlers and their families. To search Baby Matters for information on child welfare, click here.

Court Teams for Maltreated Infants and Toddlers
Visit ZERO TO THREE's Court Teams webpage by clicking here. Federally funded pilot program that combines judicial muscle with child development and mental health community partners so that babies and toddlers in the child welfare system are given the attention and life-changing help they need.

Hearing on Preventing Child Abuse and Improving Responses to Families in Crisis
Statement of Matthew Melmed, Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE
Submitted to the House Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities
November 5, 2009

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Hearing on Proposals to Improve Child Protective Services
Statement of the Honorable Constance Cohen, Associate Juvenile Judge, Fifth Judicial District of Iowa, Polk County Courthouse
Submitted to the Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means
U.S. House of Representatives
May 23, 2006

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Hearing on Fostering Permanence: Progress Achieved and Challenges Ahead for America’s Child Welfare System
Statement of Matthew Melmed, Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE
Submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance
May 10, 2006

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Restructuring the Federal Child Welfare System: Assuring the Safety, Permanence and Well-Being of Infants and Toddlers
Outlines the effects of maltreatment on early childhood development and provides detailed policy recommendations for prevention and treatment services within the child welfare system. 
[ 127 KB Icon_pdf ]

 

Court Teams for Maltreated Infants and Toddlers
by Victoria Youcha, Project Director, Court Teams for Maltreated Infants and Toddlers; Lucy Hudson, Project Coordinator, Court Teams for Maltreated Infants and Toddlers; and Debbie M. Rappaport, Senior Field Coordinator, ZERO TO THREE Policy Center

In the time it takes to watch an episode of Law and Order SVU, five infants are being removed from their homes for abuse or neglect or both.  During the time you’re getting ready to go to work, another five babies move into foster care.  Babies and toddlers are the most vulnerable to the effects of maltreatment, and its impact on all aspects of their development can have life-long implications if not properly addressed.  The science of infant-toddler development and mental health is instructive to both professionals and policymakers working toward improving outcomes for infants and toddlers in the child welfare system.  Read this article to learn about an effective model for how science informed practice and led to policy change.
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RELATED RESOURCES

Vulnerable Infants and Toddlers in Four Service Systems
-- The Urban Institute (2007)
Compiles data on vulnerable infants and toddlers in Early Head Start, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the child welfare system, and the Part C Early Intervention Program, and explores implications for research, policy, and practice.