Wednesday, April 24, 2024
4/24/2024
Project Title: Expanding and Enhancing Iowa’s Infant-Toddler Court Program Applicant Organization Name: Iowa Department of Public Health Address: 321 E 12th Street, Des Moines, IA. 50319 Project Director Name: Janet Nickell Horras Contact Phone Number: 515-954-0647 Email Address: Janet.Horras@idph.iowa.gov Website Address: https://idph.iowa.gov/family-health/family-support Grant Program Funds Requested: $625,000 annually Brief Description of The Proposed Project: The Infant-Toddler Court (ITC) Program approach aims to support the long-term well-being of children and families and reduce the time required for a child in foster care to reach a permanent, safe home. Nearly 50% of the Iowa children that have a confirmed case of child maltreatment are under the age of five, the time period of the most rapid brain development. The ITC approach prioritizes developmental needs of young children, provides additional developmental support and works quickly toward safe solutions. The Iowa ITC project will focus on the priority population of Native American and Black children and families who are demographically over-represented in the child protection system both nationally and in Iowa. The project will be focused on targeted communities that have higher risk factors present. The project also aims to employ community coordinators that reflect the priority population. Proposed Services: Enhance the ITC program in Polk/Dallas Counties and expand to two additional counties in Iowa. Each community will be supported by an ITC community coordinator to support and coordinate services for targeted children and their families. The ITC effort will be led by the Iowa Department of Public Health with a strong, committed state leadership team comprised of individuals representing parents, the University of Iowa Department of Human Services, Early Childhood Iowa, Iowa ACEs 360, Cultural Ethnic Alliance and Iowa’s judicial system. The ITC program will be coordinated wi thin the rich array of early childhood services available. Population Group(s) to be Served: The priority population will include specific zip codes in Polk and Dallas counties and prioritize services to Native American and Black children, 36 months or younger. Exploration and selection of two additional counties for expansion will occur in the first year of the project. Potential expansion counties are Black Hawk, Marshall/Meskwaki Nation, Wapello, Webster and Woodbury.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
