As Drug Overdoses in the U.S. Spike – How are Courts Responding?

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has been running a series of stories titled Children in the Courts. They can be found on NCSC’s trending topics page Trending Topics | NCSC.  The latest topic covered was the “second wave” of early childhood courts (ECCs) sparked by the increase in overdose deaths in the U.S. during the pandemic. ECCs go by a variety of names such as baby courts, infant-toddler courts, or safe babies court teams but the mission is the same. To improve evidence-based services for young children involved in the child welfare system.

Drug overdoes deaths in the U.S. increased from 92,000 in 2020 to 105,000 in 2021. That equates to about 277 lives lost per one million residents. “Researchers have pointed to factors such as social isolation, addiction treatment interruption, and stronger synthetic opioids like fentanyl.” Perma | Too Many Lives Lost: Overdose Mortality Rates and Policy Solutions | Commonwealth Fund

The first ECCs started in Florida in the 1990s with other states and jurisdictions adopting in the early 2000s – by 2020 there were roughly 100 ECCs in 30 states. The pandemic sparked states like Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee, and Washington to expand their programs.

Florida’s initial study discovered emerging brain science related to adverse childhood events (ACEs) and the positive impact of early intervention.  “ACEs are childhood events occurring in a family or social environment and causing harm or distress.”

 Infants and toddlers (under age 5) in the child welfare system are, “at extraordinarily high risk for developmental delays, non-optimal attachment relationships, trauma, and toxic stress that can affect their adjustment and well-being — often, tragically, for a lifetime.” Child-parent psychotherapy is a key component to any ECC program.

Here are links to a 2020 NCSC ECC report Perma | www.ncsc.org and 2021 survey Perma | www.courtinnovation.org both citing benefits of ECCs. Benefits include improved safety, faster time to permanency, preserved family relationships, placement stability, racial equity, increased service delivery, cost savings, increased knowledge of early childhood programs and benefits, improved caregiver relationships with children, and support/help navigating the child welfare process.

If your state is expanding or starting and ECC the NCSC would like to hear about it by sharing your experiences at Knowledge@ncsc.org or calling 800-616-6164.