Project Title: Arizona Best for Babies Infant-Toddler Court Teams Applicant Name: Prevent Child Abuse Arizona Address: P.O. Box 26495, Prescott Valley, AZ 86312 Project Director Name: Meghan Hays Davis Contact Phone Numbers: 602-410-6223 Email Address: meghan@pcaaz.org Website Address: www.pcaaz.org PURPOSE: The requested $2,807,873.52 HRSA-22-073 State Awards grant will improve outcomes for Arizona children under three years old involved or at risk of being involved in the child protection system by increasing knowledge, collaboration, and enhanced implementation of the Safe Babies Court Team (SBCT) approach in existing Infant Toddler Court Teams (ITCs). GOALS: The three objectives of Best for Babies Arizona are: 1. Form a cross-sector statewide network of experts including culturally and racially diverse people with lived experience to provide recommendations, guidance, and policy oversight to increase statewide awareness and effectiveness of the ITC court team approach. 2. Advance implementation of SBCT Core Components in three selected existing ITC sites and measure the effect of enhancements made on reunifications, disparities, positive parenting outcomes, service access for families, and child and family well-being outcomes. 3. Provide training and cross-sector convenings for selected sites that increase judicial oversight, improve coordination among resource providers, produce service delivery systems co-designed with families with lived experience, strengthen trauma-informed practices in the court and services, and reduce racial and rural disparities. METHODOLOGY: With the requested $2,807,873.52 HRSA-22-073 State Awards grant, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona (PCAAZ) will coordinate shared learning and collaboration opportunities for all existing ITCs in Arizona; provide training, technical assistance, and funding support to advance the capacity of three existing ITCs to implement the SBCT approach; and measure outputs and outcomes fo
r these activities. PCAAZ will convene a statewide leadership team and coordinate quarterly systems learning opportunities, quarterly ITC site coordinator meetings, and an annual statewide gathering for all 15 existing ITCs in Arizona. The three ITC sites selected for enhancement will receive technical assistance through monthly site meetings and quarterly community of practice meetings; training on trauma-informed court team practices, the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework, and the SBCT Core Components; and $80,000 annual subawards to fund services to advance implementation of SBCT Core Components. In collaboration with the Arizona State University School of Social Work, data will be collected to evaluate process and outcomes of statewide coordination activities and the impact of ITC site enhancements on SBCT implementation fidelity and population outcomes including rates of reunification, placement stability, time to permanency, rates of re-entry, rates of re-report, parenting self-efficacy, child and family well-being, family engagement in services, and racial and rural disparities.