INTRODUCING THE FIRST EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT IN BREVARD COUNTY

The Eighteenth Judicial Circuit has launched an Early Childhood Court in Brevard County. ECC is for young children and their families involved in dependency court because of allegations of abuse or neglect. ECC is a trauma-responsive court providing therapeutic jurisprudence and multidisciplinary team support for infants and toddlers ages three and younger. One of the young child’s parents must consent to voluntarily participate in the ECC program.

The Goal:

ECC offers an intensive program for the youngest, most vulnerable children and their parents involved in the dependency division. Abuse and neglect are harmful to a young child’s developing brain and social, emotional development. More than fifty percent of children involved in dependency cases are under age five with infants under age one being the largest group.

The Early Childhood Court program is for families involved in dependency court having at least one child age three or younger. To participate, at least one parent needs to be committed to voluntarily participating in the program.

ECC is a voluntary program. Parents chose to voluntarily participate in the specialized interventions provided by a multidisciplinary team of professionals including child development experts. This team will support the family during the difficult time of separation while striving to achieve permanency as soon as safely possible.

Parents involved in dependency court have often experienced adverse childhood experiences resulting in personal and multi-generational trauma. The specialized therapeutic interventions used in the ECC program simultaneously focus on healing the trauma of young children and their parents to break the adverse childhood experiences trajectory.

Trauma healing in the ECC program is accomplished using child parent psychotherapy which also strengthens parent child attachment for the goal of reunification. The ECC program also provides psycho-educational parenting to build attunement and secure attachment in parents’ relationships with their children. Parent participation and input are key at monthly family team meetings focused on ensuring the developmental needs and well-being of children are met.

Judicial leadership holds frequent court hearings to monitor progress towards permanency. The core components of the ECC program stem from the science of early childhood development and infant mental health to ensure meaningful services for children; empower parents to have a voice throughout the process; and build a supportive community around each family. The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare has listed the Safe Babies Court Team approach as having promising research evidence and high child welfare system relevance.