A community engagement initiative where related child-serving organisations work together to improve and expedite services for young children under court supervision.
The Evidence Summaries presented on this site were drawn from the best available evidence of the program’s effectiveness from this review. It does not necessarily reflect all the evidence about the program. The research was selected and assessed for inclusion on the Menu and towards the evidence rating because it met selection criteria related to the specific topic area, study design, quality assessment and the outcomes of interest.
Overview
Evidence Rating
Pathway
- Early help
- Targeted and specialist
- Continuing care
Australian Study
Risk of Bias
Cost
Target Age Group
About
Safe Babies Court Team™ (SBCT™) supports the health, mental health and developmental needs of infants and toddlers. The systems change initiative is focused on improving how courts, child welfare agencies and related child-serving organisations work together to improve services for young children who have been removed from their parents due to abuse and neglect and expedite their return to safe, nurturing homes. A key strategy of SBCT™ is ensuring the services that meet children and their parents’ needs are identified as early as possible in the case process. The program does not advocate for reunification, adoption or custodianship.
Aims
- Reduce and prevent child maltreatment
- Improve local systems
- Prevent court involvement
- Improve child welfare system
- Increase awareness and systems change.
Impact
Evidence is mixed for family reunification, the only outcome measured in the included study. The included study examined outcomes 12 months post intervention.
| Outcome domain | Outcome measured | Positive effect | No effect | Negative effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System | Family reunification | Yes | Not found | Yes |
How to read the table:
When ‘Yes’ is indicated for one of the three directions of effect, this means there is evidence of ‘positive’, ‘no effect’ or ‘negative effect’. Evidence is mixed and inconclusive when ‘Yes’ is indicated for two or more directions of effect. Further information about direction of effect can be found on the Using the Menu page.
SBCT™ has an evidence rating of Supported+.
This means that SBCT™ has evidence from one randomised controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experiment (QE) demonstrating positive, long-term impact on at least one child and family outcome.
This assessment is based on one research output of QE design. SBCT™ has not received a Well-supported rating as it has not yet replicated its results in another RCT or QE with a different population or setting.
| Study design | Number of research outputs included |
|---|---|
| Systematic review with meta-analysis | Not identified or included |
| Randomised controlled trial | Not identified or included |
| Quasi-experiment | 1 |
The evidence has some concerns with risk of bias.
The quality of evidence of the included QE is low and results from this QE should be considered with caution.
The study was conducted in the United States and does not include Aboriginal children and families.
Aboriginal knowledge and evidence is critical to recognise, document and share practices that lead to improved outcomes for Aboriginal children and families. The department is consulting with the Aboriginal community and stakeholders on how Aboriginal knowledge and evidence is defined and included on the Menu.
Location
- The study was conducted in the United States.
Sample
- 809 children (298 intervention, 511 control) participated in the study.
- The study focussed on 4 SBCT™ sites in the south and Midwest, representing 2 larger metropolitan areas, one mid-size city and one smaller city.
- Nearly all children were under age 3 and assigned to the Court Teams judges.
- The sites differ in racial demographics, and include one predominantly African-American location, one county with a mix of African Americans and Caucasians, one racially mixed area with a large Latino population and one largely Caucasian county.
Implementation
Delivery model, mode and setting
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SBCT™ is delivered in-person, to the parent and child. The model involves the partnership and participation of key organisations and agencies.
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The program is typically conducted in adoptive homes, birth family homes, foster/kinship care, community or school settings.
Target cohort
- Parents and families with children under court jurisdiction, who are in foster care or at risk of removal
- Children up to age 3.
Program delivery
- SBCT™ is designed to meet the urgent needs of children and families.
- The approach is guided by a strategic framework containing 10 core components aligned to 5 strategic areas of focus:
- Interdisciplinary, collaborative and proactive teamwork
- Enhanced oversight and collaborative problem-solving
- Expedited, appropriate, and effective services
- Trauma-responsive support
- Continuous quality improvement.
- The SBCT™ approach brings together professionals and links a judge with a project coordinator to bring together a group of local stakeholders to develop a plan for the local community.
- Once convened, an agency in that area contacts ZERO TO THREE (ZTT) to develop Court Teams implemented at the local level.
- Court Teams conduct monthly case reviews and run child-parent psychotherapy, parenting services and early intervention screening and services.
- Families attend monthly family team meetings, which might include parents recording themselves reading a book aloud to their child and giving that recording to the foster parent. The foster parent would then be assigned the responsibility of holding the child and turning the pages while the parent's voice reads the book.
- One of the attorneys might be assigned the responsibility for filing a motion to permit an extended holiday weekend visit.
- The child and parents are provided mental health services, including an evaluation of Adverse Childhood Experiences and individual and relationship-based therapy.
Duration and intensity
- Families attend monthly family team meetings.
- The caseworker might be required to arrange 3 visits amongst themselves, the parent and potential childcare providers.
Guides and manuals
- We were unable to locate any manuals or guides to implement SBCT™.
Additional information
- The ZERO TO THREE website has more information about the core components of the SBCT™ approach.
Staffing
- Court Teams include the department of social services, legal representatives, court appointed special advocates, service providers and others.
- We were unable to locate any information on the qualification requirements for a SBCT™ project coordinator.
Training
- We were unable to locate any information on training requirements to implement SBCT™. The ZERO TO THREE national office provides training, technical assistance, resource materials and program monitoring.
To our knowledge, SBCT™ is not available and has not been implemented in Australia.
Cost
We were unable to locate any information on the cost of SBCT™.
References
Studies identified and included in the review
- McCombs-Thornton, K. L. and E. Foster (2012). "The effect of the ZERO TO THREE Court Teams initiative on types of exits from the foster care system-A competing risks analysis." Children and Youth Services Review 34(1): 169-178.
Studies identified but not counted towards the evidence rating due to study quality
No studies that were identified were excluded due to study quality.