[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 29 (Thursday, February 15, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2076-S2077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Specter, and Mr. 
        Martinez):
  S. 627. 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; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am honored to join with the 
distinguished senior Senator from Oregon, Senator Smith, to introduce 
the Safe Babies Act of 2007.
  It is a tragic fact that America's child welfare system is failing 
our most vulnerable. From birth to age five, children develop their 
social, emotional, cognitive and moral capacities more rapidly than at 
any other time in life. Early experiences and relationships are 
absolutely critical to future development; they set the stage for how 
well individuals learn, think, control their emotions, and relate to 
others.
  This critical period is a time of tremendous promise, but also a time 
of great vulnerability. Unfortunately, infants and toddlers are 
disproportionately affected by child abuse and neglect. Children 
between birth and age three are twice as likely as older children to 
become victims of maltreatment, and are three times more likely to be 
placed in foster care. Abuse and neglect during this significant period 
can lead to perilous developmental outcomes, including school failure, 
delinquency and crime, substance abuse, and mental health problems.
  Yet the current child welfare system does a particularly poor job of 
serving infants and toddlers. Once in foster care, infants and toddlers 
are more likely to be abused. And they stay in foster care longer than 
older children. More than 40 percent of infants and toddlers involved 
in a maltreatment investigation are developmentally delayed, yet only 
10 percent of these young people currently receive treatment for 
developmental problems.
  A Federal review of 19 States' performance on child welfare outcomes 
found that all of the States received failing grades on outcomes 
related to providing adequate physical and mental health services.
  Without intervention, we put our future generation at risk and 
perpetuate the cycle of maltreatment. But we can alter these 
developmental outcomes by ensuring that children are in safe, permanent 
homes and have access to necessary mental and physical health care. The 
Safe Babies Act authorizes funding for juvenile courts to create Court 
Teams for the integrated handling of infant and toddler abuse and 
neglect cases. By bringing together the legal, child welfare, and 
children's services communities, we can promote the health and well-
being of our babies and toddlers.
  First, this bill establishes a National Court Teams Resource Center. 
This Resource Center would provide grants and technical assistance to 
juvenile courts for the creation of local Court Teams to better handle 
infant and toddler abuse and neglect cases. Few judges have all the 
necessary knowledge about early childhood development and they 
frequently lack resources in the community for services necessary for 
young children. They are often frustrated by the piecemeal provision of 
services and the overburdened child welfare system. To adequately serve 
children, they need the expertise of child welfare workers, Guardians 
Ad Litem, Court Appointed Special Advocates, substance abuse treatment 
providers and mental health care providers. Court Teams bring together 
this expertise. Through monthly case reviews, judges can coordinate 
efforts by all members of the team to ensure efficient and effective 
provision of services. The goal of these courts is to prevent multiple 
placements for infants and toddlers in foster care, secure needed 
services, and find a permanent home for these children as quickly as 
possible.
  Court Teams work with families in an effort to reunite children with 
their parents. By bringing together multiple service providers, they 
can facilitate opportunities for parents to learn to create a safe and 
nurturing home environment. Court Teams ensure support for future 
reunification only when the

[[Page S2077]]

parent is ready and able to step up to provide an appropriate and safe 
environment. We know from research that each visit between a child and 
birth parent triples the likelihood of achieving permanence. Through 
the Court Teams, judges are able to coordinate education and 
supervision so parents can visit their children and continue to nurture 
a loving bond.
  Although reunification with parents is the ultimate goal, when that 
is not possible, Court Teams are also focusing on Plan B. By conducting 
concurrent planning, Court Teams are more likely to find an appropriate 
placement that will lead to permanency and minimize disruptions. By 
supporting training for foster parents and newly reunified biological 
parents, we can prevent children from being bounced around in the 
foster care system.
  Court Teams are also able to coordinate services for children. Judges 
and child welfare services are able to collaborate to include necessary 
medical and developmental interventions. By improving access to mental 
health and substance abuse treatment for parents and children, Court 
Teams make sure children are able to access needed services and 
increase the chances of successful, healthy development.
  Finally, Court Teams provide services and supports for families to 
preserve and stabilize homes for children. Judges are able to use court 
oversight to ensure compliance, facilitate visits with caregivers to 
promote positive attachments, and make sure that children are in safe 
environments after placement.
  The Safe Babies Act will make an important impact in the way we treat 
infants and toddlers in the court system. By facilitating involvement 
from all parties, Court Teams are better equipped to ensure that young 
children have the community support and services they need. Early 
evaluation research in the Miami/Dade County court project finds a high 
rate of permanency for children in the court and increased quality of 
parent-child interaction. By finding permanent homes, children were 
able to escape the limbo of the foster care system. More importantly, 
the court was successful in preventing any future recurrence of abuse 
or neglect.
  Together we can work to protect the safety and well-being of our 
infants and toddlers. With this legislation, we have the opportunity to 
ensure that children are placed quickly in safe and loving homes. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that this 
legislation is passed and signed into law.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Iowa, 
Senator Harkin, to introduce the Safe Babies Act of 2007. The safety 
and well-being of our nation's children, including its most vulnerable 
infants and toddlers, is very important and I am confident that this 
bill will take an important step forward in protecting them.
  Mr. President, in our Nation millions of children are reported abused 
or neglected each year. Of these, more than 900,000 are confirmed 
maltreated by child protective service organizations and our court 
systems. Abuse and neglect of children causes about 1,500 deaths each 
year. Children who are under the age of four are at the greatest risk 
for injury or death--making up nearly 80 percent of child maltreatment 
fatalities. We also know that shaken-baby syndrome, SBS, is a form of 
abuse that affects more than 1,200 babies each year.
  Studies also tell us that younger children who are abused or 
neglected are vulnerable to long-term challenges associated with their 
maltreatment. Their long-term outcomes show much higher rates for 
social, emotional and cognitive impairment. They also are more likely 
to adopt high risk behaviors and develop substance abuse and mental 
health problems than their peers who have not been abused.
  These numbers tell us very loudly that there is a problem in America. 
Our most vulnerable and innocent are being abused and need our help.
  Children who come through our Nation's court systems need more 
support. While the hardworking judges, attorneys, child welfare workers 
and volunteers do so much to help stop the child abuse and neglect they 
see every day, they too often see families returning to the courts 
generation after generation. They see their workloads expand. They see 
too many families in strife.
  The Safe Babies Act will help these most vulnerable children. This 
bill puts into motion a proven model for helping infants and toddlers 
to recover from their abuse, and for families to stop the cycle of 
abuse and reunite. This model is made up of a judicial and mental 
health partnership, or ``court team,'' that provides the needed abuse 
and neglect prevention and early intervention services to children and 
their families. It is based on a model developed by the Honorable Cindy 
Lederman of the Miami-Dade Juvenile Court in Miami. Seeing the success 
she has had with this model. It has been replicated in courts across 
the nation.
  In my home State of Oregon, our Salem courts have developed the 
``Foster Attachment'' program based on Judge Lederman's model. This 
program brings together the courts, local treatment providers, and 
child welfare agencies to provide substance abuse treatment and mental 
health treatment, as well as parenting intervention to help parents who 
have had their children removed due to methamphetamine use.
  I look forward to the passage of this important legislation and to 
working with my colleague Senator Harkin to ensure its passage. There 
is no issue of greater importance than the safety and welfare of our 
next generation. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support this important bill.
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