BREVARD EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT
- WHAT ARE THE GOALS, PROCESS AND BENEFITS? -
The brain is not fully developed at birth, eighty percent developed by age three, and ninety percent developed by age five. This critical window of time for brain development makes the first 1000 days of children’s lives the most beneficial time to intervene, provide services, and heal trauma. Providing intensive interventions before age three has the greatest impact on the developing brain and social, emotional well-being of children.Click the button below for a referral form and start the process now.
ECC REFERRAL FORM EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT
- What Is The Goal Of This Program -
The goal of Florida’s Early Childhood Court is to improve child safety and well-being, heal trauma and repair the parent/child relationship, expedite permanency, prevent recurrence of maltreatment, and stop the intergenerational cycle of abuse, neglect, and violence. The ECC program and its team members including parents work together to change the tragedy that brought the family into court into an opportunity to heal.


EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT
- Making a difference in the lives of families -
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.
EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT
- Who Benefits From This Program -
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.


EARLY CHILDHOOD COURT
- Starting the Healing Process -
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.