II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 627 

To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 

to improve the health and well-being of maltreated infants and toddlers 

through the creation of a National Court Teams Resource Center, to 

assist local Court Teams, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mr. SPECTER, and Mr. MARTINEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Act of 1974 to improve the health and well-being of 

maltreated infants and toddlers through the creation of 

a National Court Teams Resource Center, to assist local 

Court Teams, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Babies Act of 

5 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Children three years of age and younger 

2 have the highest rates of victimization. Infants and 

3 toddlers are twice as likely as all other children to 

4 become victims of child maltreatment. Children ages 

5 three and younger are also 32 percent more likely to 

6 be placed in foster care than children ages four to 

7 eleven. Once placed in foster care, children three 

8 years of age and younger are more likely than older 

9 children to be abused and neglected, and they tend 

10 to stay in foster care longer than older children. 

11 (2) Infants and toddlers are the most vulner12 able to the effects of maltreatment. Research shows 

13 that young children who have experienced physical 

14 abuse have lower social competence, show less empa15 thy for others, and have difficulty recognizing oth16 ers’ emotions. They are also more likely than chil17 dren who have not been maltreated to have deficits 

18 in IQ scores, language ability, and school perform19 ance. 

20 (3) Research shows that the human brain has 

21 achieved 80 to 85 percent of its adult size by the age 

22 of three. During those early years, the brain is de23 veloping the vast majority of its basic capacity, the 

24 development of which can determine future achieve25 ment or failure. Therefore, infants and toddlers in 


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1 foster care are spending the most critical develop2 mental period in situations that may be detrimental 

3 to healthy growth and development. 

4 (4) Children under the age of four account for 

5 81 percent of child fatalities, and children under the 

6 age of one account for 45 percent of such fatalities. 

7 (5) Child welfare systems are not meeting the 

8 needs of the children who rely on public intervention 

9 to protect them. In the Child and Family Service 

10 Reviews for fiscal years 2003 and 2004, the Admin11 istration for Children and Families revealed that, of 

12 19 States studied for performance on Child and 

13 Family Services Review indicators, none of the 

14 States achieved all of the specified outcomes, and all 

15 of the States failed to meet the outcome related to 

16 the provision of physical and mental health services 

17 to children in foster care. 

18 (6) Judges can be powerful catalysts for change 

19 in the way communities address the needs of mal20 treated infants and toddlers. A groundbreaking 

21 project in the Juvenile Division of the Eleventh Ju22 dicial Circuit of Florida has combined the leadership 

23 of a family court judge with expertise in early child24 hood development. This ground breaking collabora25 tion is ensuring that infants and toddlers receive the 


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1 services they need. Mental health and parenting 

2 intervention services are provided for parents and 

3 children together. Initial results are promising in 

4 terms of eliminating further abuse and neglect and 

5 promoting safety and well-being through timely per6 manent placements. 

7 SEC. 3. COURT TEAMS. 

8 Title II of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Pre9 vention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5611 et seq.) is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) by redesignating part F as part G; and 

12 (2) by inserting after part E the following new 

13 part: 

14 ‘‘PART F—COURT TEAMS 

15 ‘‘SEC. 271. COURT TEAMS PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

16 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORIZED.—The Administrator shall 

17 award a grant to a national early childhood development 

18 organization to— 

19 ‘‘(1) establish a National Court Teams Re20 source Center to— 

21 ‘‘(A) promote the well-being of maltreated 

22 infants and toddlers and their families (includ23 ing the special problems created by substance 

24 abuse, particularly methamphetamine abuse); 


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1 ‘‘(B) help prevent the recurrence of abuse 

2 and neglect of children; and 

3 ‘‘(C) promote timely reunification of fami4 lies or other successful permanency outcomes 

5 for maltreated infants and toddlers in foster 

6 care; and 

7 ‘‘(2) select, and provide assistance to, local 

8 Court Teams created to achieve the goals described 

9 in paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(b) GRANT DURATION.—The grant awarded under 

11 this part shall be for a period of 5 years, and shall be 

12 renewable at the discretion of the Administrator. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 272. ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION; SELECTION OF 

14 GRANTEE. 

15 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive the grant 

16 described in section 271, an entity shall be a national early 

17 childhood development organization, as defined in section 

18 276, that has— 

19 ‘‘(1) specific expertise in the development of in20 fants and toddlers; 

21 ‘‘(2) experience in incorporating the expertise 

22 described in paragraph (1) into the judicial system 

23 to promote change in the way courts address cases 

24 involving maltreated infants and toddlers in foster 

25 care; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the capacity— 

2 ‘‘(A) to establish and maintain the Na3 tional Court Teams Resource Center described 

4 in section 273; and 

5 ‘‘(B) to support the implementation and 

6 activities of local Court Teams by providing the 

7 assistance required under this part. 

8 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An entity desiring to receive the 

9 grant described in section 271 shall submit an application 

10 to the Administrator, at such time, in such manner, and 

11 containing such information as the Administrator may re12 quire. Such application shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) describe the expertise of the entity in in14 fant and toddler development, including any experi15 ence relevant to the ability of the entity to oversee 

16 the implementation of local Court Teams, and the 

17 capacity of the entity to provide assistance to local 

18 Court Teams; 

19 ‘‘(2) include a detailed plan describing how the 

20 entity will establish and maintain the National Court 

21 Teams Resource Center, and how the entity will 

22 carry out the activities of such Center, as described 

23 in section 273; and 

24 ‘‘(3) explain the process the entity will use to 

25 select local Court Teams to receive assistance under 


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1 this part, including an assurance that the entity will 

2 give priority to applications that— 

3 ‘‘(A) demonstrate the commitment of— 

4 ‘‘(i) at least one qualified judge to 

5 lead the local Court Team and serve as Ju6 dicial Leader of the Court Team; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) community agencies serving mal8 treated infants and toddlers and their fam9 ilies in such jurisdiction to participate in 

10 the local Court Team; 

11 ‘‘(B) describe the population of maltreated 

12 infants and toddlers in the community within 

13 the jurisdiction of the court over which the 

14 qualified judge presides, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) any problems contributing to the 

16 placement of maltreated infants and tod17 dlers under the supervision of the court 

18 (including the impact of parental substance 

19 abuse, and particularly methamphetamine 

20 abuse); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) any challenges faced by the court 

22 in making decisions that are in the best in23 terests of such maltreated infants and tod24 dlers; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) describe how the local Court Team 

2 will carry out the activities required under sec3 tion 274; 

4 ‘‘(4) demonstrate the ability to meet the all se5 lection criteria, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) special expertise in the developmental 

7 needs of children three years of age and young8 er; 

9 ‘‘(B) a demonstrated record of providing 

10 resources to parents and other caregivers re11 garding the healthy growth and development of 

12 their children; 

13 ‘‘(C) a demonstrated record of providing 

14 resources for practitioners in the fields of child 

15 development, early child care and education, 

16 family support, pediatrics, child welfare, and 

17 mental health; 

18 ‘‘(D) extensive knowledge about how expo19 sure to violence (including domestic violence, 

20 community violence, and child maltreatment) 

21 influences the growth and development of in22 fants and toddlers; 

23 ‘‘(E) a documented history of collaboration 

24 with public and private sector groups working 

25 to improve the lives of maltreated infants and 


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1 toddlers, including collaboration with judges at 

2 the local level; 

3 ‘‘(F) the capacity to analyze child welfare 

4 policy at the local, State, and national levels 

5 and to offer research-based solutions to the 

6 problems confronting child welfare systems 

7 across the country; and 

8 ‘‘(G) the ability to manage multiple com9 plex national resource centers and related ac10 tivities, including strategic planning, team 

11 building, infrastructure development, training 

12 for multidisciplinary professionals at all levels, 

13 materials development for multiple audiences in 

14 a variety of formats, and conference planning 

15 and delivery at the local, State, regional, and 

16 national levels; and 

17 ‘‘(5) include any other information the Adminis18 trator may require, including any assurance required 

19 by the Administrator that the entity, if selected, will 

20 give special consideration to applications that have a 

21 significant number of child welfare cases in the ju22 risdiction of the court over which the qualified judge 

23 presides in which substance abuse, and particularly 

24 methamphetamine abuse, is involved. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF GRANTEE.—In considering grant 

2 applications under this part, the Administrator shall select 

3 the national early childhood development organization that 

4 demonstrates— 

5 ‘‘(1) the greatest ability to satisfy the criteria 

6 described in subsection (b)(4); and 

7 ‘‘(2) the most extensive experience in address8 ing the needs of abused and maltreated infants and 

9 toddlers through training and technical assistance 

10 provided to judges, multidisciplinary professionals 

11 and community leaders. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 273. NATIONAL COURT TEAMS RESOURCE CENTER. 

13 ‘‘(a) GENERAL ACTIVITIES.—The national early 

14 childhood development organization receiving the grant 

15 authorized under section 271 shall establish and maintain 

16 a National Court Teams Resource Center, which shall 

17 carry out the following activities: 

18 ‘‘(1) Develop a process for selecting, and select, 

19 local Court Teams to receive assistance under this 

20 part. 

21 ‘‘(2) Develop materials to guide qualified judges 

22 in the decision-making process regarding maltreated 

23 infants and toddlers, and to train members of local 

24 Court Teams and others in the community regarding 


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1 the appropriate care of maltreated infants and tod2 dlers, including the importance of— 

3 ‘‘(A) stable foster care placements; 

4 ‘‘(B) frequent parent-child visitation; 

5 ‘‘(C) reduction of the recurrence of abuse 

6 and neglect; 

7 ‘‘(D) improving health and well-being; and 

8 ‘‘(E) timely permanent placement. 

9 ‘‘(3) Conduct national meetings and training 

10 sessions for local Court Teams. 

11 ‘‘(4) Develop a database that shall be— 

12 ‘‘(A) available to each local Court Team to 

13 track such Court Team’s progress; and 

14 ‘‘(B) used by the National Court Teams 

15 Resource Center to facilitate evaluation of the 

16 local Court Teams receiving assistance under 

17 this part. 

18 ‘‘(5) Provide information to communities and 

19 courts around the country seeking to adopt the 

20 Court Teams approach, including information re21 lated to— 

22 ‘‘(A) the incorporation of knowledge about 

23 infant and toddler development into the resolu24 tion of cases by judges with jurisdiction over 

25 children in foster care; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) methods to change State and local 

2 government systems for addressing the needs of 

3 infants and toddlers in the foster care, and 

4 their families. 

5 ‘‘(6) Any other activity necessary to provide the 

6 assistance required under subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL COURT TEAMS.—Assist8 ance provided to local Court Teams by the National Court 

9 Teams Resource Center shall include— 

10 ‘‘(1) providing direction, coordination, and over11 sight of the implementation of local Court Teams, as 

12 needed; 

13 ‘‘(2) providing a Local Community Coordinator 

14 for each local Court Team, who shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) be selected by the National Court 

16 Teams Resource Center after consultation with 

17 the Judicial Leader of the local Court Team; 

18 ‘‘(B) serve as a resource of child develop19 ment expertise for the local Court Team; and 

20 ‘‘(C) promote coordination (in the jurisdic21 tion of the court over which the Judicial Leader 

22 presides) between— 

23 ‘‘(i) community agencies that serve 

24 children; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) providers of resources to support 

2 maltreated infants and toddlers; 

3 ‘‘(3) providing training and technical assistance 

4 to local Court Teams, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) individual consultation on site, 

6 through telephone conversations, and through 

7 responses to emailed information requests; 

8 ‘‘(B) networking assistance and facilitation 

9 of telephone conference calls among Judicial 

10 Leaders and local Court Team members in dif11 ferent jurisdictions to discuss issues of common 

12 concern; 

13 ‘‘(C) development and dissemination of 

14 training materials, including fact sheets, tem15 plate forms, and sample operational materials 

16 developed by local Court Teams; and 

17 ‘‘(D) training for local Court Teams re18 lated to— 

19 ‘‘(i) the impact of abuse and neglect 

20 on infants and toddlers; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) improved decision-making by 

22 courts regarding maltreated infants and 

23 toddlers to reduce the recurrence of abuse 

24 and neglect and improve developmental 

25 outcomes; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) organizing local training for community 

2 members of jurisdictions in which local Court Teams 

3 are located, which shall relate to the particular needs 

4 of infants and toddlers exposed to maltreatment and 

5 trauma, including topics such as— 

6 ‘‘(A) general infant and toddler develop7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(B) the impact of abuse and neglect on 

9 development; 

10 ‘‘(C) a relationship-based mental health 

11 intervention model for parents and children to12 gether; 

13 ‘‘(D) best-practices in family interactions; 

14 ‘‘(E) evidence-based parenting interven15 tions; and 

16 ‘‘(F) services available to foster children in 

17 the community. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 274. LOCAL COURT TEAMS. 

19 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—An entity desiring to receive the 

20 assistance for local Court Teams made available under 

21 this part shall submit an application to the National Court 

22 Teams Resource Center at such time, in such manner, and 

23 containing such information as the National Court Teams 

24 Resource Center may require. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive assist2 ance under this part, a local Court Team shall be com3 prised of— 

4 ‘‘(1) a Judicial Leader, who shall be a qualified 

5 judge, and who shall lead and oversee the implemen6 tation and ongoing activities of the local Court 

7 Team; 

8 ‘‘(2) a Local Community Coordinator, selected 

9 and provided by the National Court Teams Resource 

10 Center in accordance with section 273(b)(2); and 

11 ‘‘(3) no fewer than six key stakeholders who— 

12 ‘‘(A) are members of the community in 

13 which the local Court Team is located; 

14 ‘‘(B) are committed to working to restruc15 ture the way the jurisdiction responds to the 

16 needs of maltreated infants and toddlers; and 

17 ‘‘(C) represent a variety of individuals in18 volved with the care of maltreated infants and 

19 toddlers, which may include pediatricians, child 

20 welfare workers, attorneys, court-appointed spe21 cial advocates, mental health professionals, sub22 stance abuse treatment providers, Early Head 

23 Start and child care providers, Court Improve24 ment Program staff, and any other individuals 


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1 who are involved in the care of maltreated in2 fants and toddlers. 

3 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED USE OF ASSISTANCE.—A local Court 

4 Team shall use any assistance received under this part to 

5 carry out the following activities: 

6 ‘‘(1) Conducting monthly case reviews of each 

7 case handled by the local Court Team, in which all 

8 individuals and organizations involved in a case meet 

9 to review progress in such case, and to monitor and 

10 track referral to, delivery of, and barriers against, 

11 services for maltreated infants and toddlers and 

12 their families. 

13 ‘‘(2) Incorporating child-focused services into 

14 case plans for maltreated infants and toddlers, in15 cluding services such as medical, developmental, and 

16 mental health interventions and, as appropriate, 

17 services for children and parents together. 

18 ‘‘(3) Organizing the provision of local training 

19 (provided by the National Court Teams Resource 

20 Center) to community members of the jurisdiction in 

21 which the local Court Team is located, including 

22 court officials, child welfare agencies, attorneys, 

23 Guardians Ad Litem, court-appointed special advo24 cates, and other individuals and organizations pro25 viding services to infants and toddlers in foster care. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Identifying areas in the community in need 

2 of improved mental health and substance abuse 

3 treatment, and assisting the National Court Teams 

4 Resource Center in improving mental health treat5 ment for parents and children together, and sub6 stance abuse treatment for families (including moth7 ers and children), as needed. 

8 ‘‘(5) Utilizing resource materials disseminated 

9 by the National Court Teams Resource Center to 

10 guide judges in the decision-making process regard11 ing maltreated infants and toddlers, and to provide 

12 training for Court Team members. 

13 ‘‘(6) Participating in the national evaluation 

14 conducted by the Administrator in accordance with 

15 section 275, to determine the extent to which the ac16 tivities of the local Court Team reduce the recur17 rence of abuse and neglect and improve health and 

18 developmental outcomes for maltreated infants and 

19 toddlers. 

20 ‘‘(d) PERMISSIBLE USE OF ASSISTANCE.—A local 

21 Court may use the assistance received under this part to 

22 carry out the following activities: 

23 ‘‘(1) Developing processes for responding to pa24 rental substance abuse, such as— 


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1 ‘‘(A) coordinating with local law enforce2 ment agencies to allow rapid response teams to 

3 intervene quickly on behalf of infants and tod4 dlers who are identified by law enforcement per5 sonnel as being present during illegal activities 

6 related to methamphetamines or other illegal 

7 substances; and 

8 ‘‘(B) establishing and maintaining relation9 ships with substance abuse treatment programs 

10 to increase access to treatment for parents of 

11 maltreated infants and toddlers. 

12 ‘‘(2) Identifying the areas in the community in 

13 need of early childhood mental health services, and 

14 assisting the National Court Teams Resource Center 

15 in providing relationship-based early childhood men16 tal health services by providing training on parent17 child psychotherapy to mental health providers. 

18 ‘‘(3) Any other activities that help meet the 

19 needs and improve the health and developmental 

20 outcomes of maltreated infants and toddlers in fos21 ter care. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 275. EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) EVALUATION FORM.—Not later than 6 months 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the National 

25 Court Teams Resource Center shall create, and distribute 


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1 to each local Court Team, an evaluation form that shall 

2 be used to periodically collect any data from local Court 

3 Teams that the National Court Teams Resource Center 

4 determines may be relevant to the reports required by sub5 section (b). 

6 ‘‘(b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS BY THE ADMINIS7 TRATOR.—At the end of the three-year period beginning 

8 on the date of the enactment of this Act, and again at 

9 the end of the five-year period beginning on such date of 

10 enactment, the Administrator shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) compile the data collected in the periodic 

12 evaluation forms completed by each local Court 

13 Team; 

14 ‘‘(2) conduct a national evaluation of Court 

15 Teams, based on such compilation of data; and 

16 ‘‘(3) report to Congress on the effectiveness of 

17 Court Teams, including the extent to which local 

18 Court Teams are— 

19 ‘‘(A) improving access to services for mal20 treated infants and toddlers; 

21 ‘‘(B) reducing the recurrence of abuse and 

22 neglect; 

23 ‘‘(C) promoting permanent placements of 

24 maltreated infants and toddlers; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) improving the developmental out2 comes for maltreated infants and toddlers who 

3 have been in foster care. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 276. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘For the purposes of this part: 

6 ‘‘(1) COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE.— 

7 The term ‘court-appointed special advocate’ means 

8 an individual who is trained by a recognized court9 appointed special advocate program and appointed 

10 by a court to advocate for the best interests of chil11 dren who come into the court system primarily as a 

12 result of abuse or neglect. 

13 ‘‘(2) COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.—The 

14 term ‘Court Improvement Program’ means a pro15 gram authorized under section 438 of the Social Se16 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 629h). 

17 ‘‘(3) GUARDIAN AD LITEM.—The term ‘Guard18 ian Ad Litem’ means an attorney or court-appointed 

19 special advocate who is appointed by a court to ad20 vocate for the best interests of children who come 

21 into the court system primarily as a result of abuse 

22 or neglect. 

23 ‘‘(4) MALTREATED INFANT OR TODDLER.—The 

24 term ‘maltreated infant or toddler’ means any child 

25 three years of age or younger who is the victim of 


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1 a substantiated case of physical abuse, neglect, med2 ical neglect, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse. 

3 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOP4 MENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘national early 

5 childhood development organization’ means a na6 tional, private, nonprofit organization— 

7 ‘‘(A) that is dedicated to supporting the 

8 healthy development and well-being of infants, 

9 toddlers, and their families; and 

10 ‘‘(B) that has the capacity for research, 

11 training, information dissemination, and leader12 ship development in all of the professional dis13 ciplines related to infants and toddlers three 

14 years of age and younger. 

15 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED JUDGE.—The term ‘qualified 

16 judge’ means a judge who presides over a court that 

17 has jurisdiction over children in foster care, such as 

18 a judge for a dependency court or family court.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 Section 299 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

21 Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5671) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘PARTS C 

24 AND E)’’ and inserting ‘‘PARTS C, E, AND F)’’; 

25 and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘parts C 

2 and E)’’ and inserting ‘‘parts C, E, and F)’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub4 section (e); and 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol6 lowing new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

8 PART F.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

9 carry out part F, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008, 

10 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.’’. 

Æ 


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