Allegheny Family Court Recieves Federal Funds to Aid Infants and Toddlers
Allegheny Family Court Receives Federal Funds to Aid Infants and Toddlers
Washington
Infants and toddlers in the Allegheny County child welfare system will have a better chance of succeeding in life with the help of $100,000 in federal funds. Congressman Tim Murphy joined with Congresswoman Melissa Hart (PA-4) today in announcing the funding for the Allegheny County Family Court's Zero-to-Three Model Court Program.
"Through my experiences as a child psychologist, small children who come in contact with the child welfare system are at a greater risk of becoming developmentally impaired," Congressman Tim Murphy said. "This money will be used to form a Court Team with the specific goal of making sure infants and toddlers in the child welfare system have an adequate support system to address their needs. This first step will be to build awareness within the Allegheny County court system through an intensive education campaign."
Since 1977, Zero-to-Three has been working towards improving the lives of young children and families in the child welfare system by supporting their healthy development and overall well-being. The Court team will bring the science of early childhood development, skills and services to juvenile and family courts. A child development specialist in the community will be provided to assist the family court judge. The specialist will help identify services available to the children and find where more services are needed to help improve the outcome of the child.
"The Zero-to-Three program has had great success in other parts of the country, and now the children of Allegheny County will benefit from it as well," Murphy concluded. "While a strong family support system is always the best way to have a positive impact on the outcome of a child's life, for those infants and toddlers who do no have one, the Zero-to-Three program will help put them on a path in the right direction. These children now have a better chance to grow up and be productive members of society."
http://murphy.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=42610