Infants and toddlers are overrepresented in the child welfare system and are more likely than older children to be removed from their original caregiver and placed in out-of-home care. According to this new evaluation, implementation of our Strong Starts Court Initiative in a New York City courtroom led to a decrease in removals from their original caregiver and was associated with an increase in children residing with that caregiver a year later.
Families in our Strong Starts Court Initiative, which supports young children and their families who are in New York City Family Court due to allegations of abuse or neglect, have fewer subsequent child welfare petitions than families not receiving enhanced support.
Family Court, which addresses complex issues involving some of the most vulnerable populations, is not exempt from the effects that COVID-19 are having on court operations across the country, forcing many to close courthouses, reduce or delay hearings, or conduct business remotely.
This report is a process evaluation designed to document the first nine months of the Strong Starts Court Initiative, a collaborative problem-solving approach for infants (three years or younger) and families involved in child abuse and neglect cases in Bronx Family Court.
Katheryn Lotsos and Stephen Forrester from the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children discuss their organization’s approach to supervised visitation. The Society's therapeutic model includes safety planning, parent education classes, special training for the professionals supervising the visits, and close collaboration with the courts.
