Address: State of Nevada Division of Child and Family Services 4126 Technology Way, Carson City, NV 89701 Project Director Name: Rhonda Lawrence Contact Phone Number: 775-688-2421 Email Address: rlawrence@dcfs.nv.gov Funds Requested: $3,125,000.00 On behalf of a multitude of early childhood and family (Prenatal to Three) serving community partners, state level divisions, and local court and child welfare jurisdictions within Nevada, the State of Nevada’s Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) is honored to lead and coordinate Nevada’s Infant Toddler Court Program expansion (NV ITCP Expansion Project) efforts through its application for HRSA-22-073: Infant Toddler Court Program-State Awards. In 2019, Washoe County Human Services Agency (WCHSA) launched the first Infant Toddler Court (ITC) “Safe Babies Court Team” (SBCT) program in Nevada. DCFS has direct experience as a community stakeholder within the Infant Toddler Court (ITC) approach Safe Babies Court TeamTM (SBCT) in Washoe County as the primary community provider of Child Parent Psychotherapy. The success of the WCHSA SBCT has served as an example of further implementation in Nevada. This project seeks to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of the target population, infants and toddlers age zero to three, by enhancing and expanding the SBCT model in Washoe County, and implementating SBCT in two new performance sites, the densely populated Clark County (Las Vegas), and the rural consolidated municipality of Carson City. The goals of the project are to: 1) improve efforts at family, community, and systems levels to strengthen families and prevent child maltreatment and/or child welfare involvement for children under age three; 2) strengthen meaningful connections with diverse and multi-sector partnerships to promote communication and coordination of efforts to ensure that strategic planning, workforce development, and training are in alignment with and supportive o
f the promotion of equity, holistic family support, well-being, and protective factors with a public health lens within the target population; and 3) increase access of children 0-3 under court jurisdiction, who are in foster care or at risk of removal, and their families in Nevada to expedited, comprehensive supports. Accomplishment of these goals are expected to result in fewer removals, shorter time to permanency, reduced recurrence of maltreatment, and decreases in racial and ethnic disparities for children and families served by SBCT. These goals will be achieved by establishing and staffing a NV ITCP Leadership Office within DCFS, building upon existing relationships with state, county, local, and community partners by engaging the community, strengthening partnerships, and developing a coalition of statewide, cross-sector stakeholders. Through this collaboration, the grant activities will be implemented including the development of a Disparity Impact Statement, a statewide ITCP implementation plan, and plans for training and professional development, broad communication and dissemination of grant outcomes, and the sustainability of the SBCT model in Nevada (e.g., capacity-building, long-term financial support). This project will be structured upon data collection, evaluation, and continuous quality improvement activities focusing on process measures, outcome measures, and measures designed to assess the impact of the project on racial and ethnic disparities.