PROVIDE T&TA TO SAFE START/OBSERVER MODEL COURT AND CHILD VICTIMS' ACT MODEL COURT READINESS

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges' (NCJFCJ) "Model Courts" project is a national-level initiative to develop and demonstrate best pratices in the handling of child abuse and neglect cases by dependency courts. Through the Model COurts program, 24 courts across the U.S. receive intensive TTA to implement best pratices and model approaches. The Safe Start Initiative is a research-based demonstration initiative which is part of a broader national initiative to prevent and reduce the impact of family and community violence on young children, primarily from birth to six years of age. Under the "Safe Start Apprenticeship Model COurts" initiative these two important projects are blended by making the intensive NCJFCJ T&TA currently provided to 24 communities also available to dependency court personnel in the Safe Start demonstration communities. Key project goals are to increase judicial/court engagement and buy-in to the process of systems reform in Safe Start communities, and to subsequently facilitate improved dependency court practice in those communities such that better outcomes are achieved for children exposed to violence.

CA/NCF