Dependency Court Programs Focus On Babies' Health


The Safe Babies program model trains judges to oversee foster-care cases with the goal of fixing the problems that led social workers to remove young children from their homes. Operating swiftly, so that babies do not lose precious weeks and months apart from their parents at a critical time, programs like Best For Babies in Pierce County, Washington, put teams of medical and mental health experts on a case. Nationwide, the program used in 30 states makes family reunification much more likely and rapid, with healthier parental attachments and child development.

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