I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6425 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 8, 2006 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. FORTUN˜O, Mr. KILDEE, 
and Mrs. SCHMIDT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Babies Act of 
2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) Children three years of age and younger 
have the highest rates of victimization. Infants and 
toddlers are twice as likely as all other children to 
become victims of child maltreatment. Children ages 
three and younger are also 32 percent more likely to 
be placed in foster care than children ages four to 
eleven. Once placed in foster care, children three 
years of age and younger are more likely than older 
children to be abused and neglected, and they tend 
to stay in foster care longer than older children. 
(2) Infants and toddlers are the most vulner-
able to the effects of maltreatment. Research shows 
that young children who have experienced physical 
abuse have lower social competence, show less empa-
thy for others, and have difficulty recognizing oth-
ers’ emotions. They are also more likely than chil-
dren who have not been maltreated to have deficits 
in IQ scores, language ability, and school perform-
ance. 
(3) Research shows that the human brain has 
achieved 80 to 85 percent of its adult size by the age 
of three. During those early years, the brain is de-
veloping the vast majority of its basic capacity, the 
development of which can determine future achieve-
ment or failure. Therefore, infants and toddlers in 
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foster care are spending the most critical develop-
mental period in situations that may be detrimental 
to healthy growth and development. 
(4) Children under the age of four account for 
81 percent of child fatalities, and children under the 
age of one account for 45 percent of such fatalities. 
(5) A rapidly spreading epidemic of meth-
amphetamine use is overwhelming child welfare sys-
tems in many States. Iowa is one of the States most 
ravaged by the methamphetamine epidemic, and it 
has the third highest rate of per capita methamphet-
amine treatment admissions in the Nation. In Iowa 
in 2004, the rate of maltreatment for infants and 
toddlers was 32.3 per 1,000 children, twice the na-
tional average of 16.1 per 1,000 children. 
(6) Child welfare systems are not meeting the 
needs of the children who rely on public intervention 
to protect them. In the Child and Family Service 
Reviews for fiscal years 2003 and 2004, the Admin-
istration for Children and Families revealed that, of 
19 States studied for performance on Child and 
Family Services Review indicators, none of the 
States achieved all of the specified outcomes, and all 
of the States failed to meet the outcome related to 
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the provision of physical and mental health services 
to children in foster care. 
(7) Judges can be powerful catalysts for change 
in the way communities address the needs of mal-
treated infants and toddlers. A groundbreaking 
project in the Juvenile Division of the Eleventh Ju-
dicial Circuit of Florida has combined the leadership 
of a family court judge with expertise in early child-
hood development. This ground breaking collabora-
tion is ensuring that infants and toddlers receive the 
services they need. Mental health and parenting 
intervention services are provided for parents and 
children together. Initial results are promising in 
terms of eliminating further abuse and neglect and 
promoting safety and well-being through timely per-
manent placements. 
SEC. 3. COURT TEAMS. 
Title II of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Pre-
vention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5611 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating part F as part G; and 
(2) by inserting after part E the following new 
part: 
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