Early childhood court in Florida: Qualitative results of a statewide evaluation.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Elsevier Science Inc Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 7801702 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-7757 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01452134 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Child Abuse Negl Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Oxford : Elsevier Science Inc
      Original Publication: Oxford, Elmsford, N. Y., Pergamon Press.
    • Subject Terms:
      Criminal Law* ; Foster Home Care*/legislation & jurisprudence; Child ; Child Abuse ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Florida ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Infant ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Program Evaluation ; Qualitative Research ; Reproducibility of Results ; Stakeholder Participation
    • Abstract:
      Background: Child maltreatment, removal from the home and foster care placement are all associated with poor physical and developmental outcomes for children. Early Childhood Court (ECC) is a specialized, trauma-informed, team-based approach designed to meet the unique needs of young children and their families in the dependency court system.
      Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the ECC program in 20 Florida circuits.
      Participants and Setting: Participants in the evaluation were 53 ECC professionals (e.g., judges, attorneys, mental health providers, caseworkers, etc.) and 9 parents and caregivers. Focus groups were conducted in person, and interviews were conducted either in person or on the phone.
      Methods: Interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with a hybrid deductive/inductive process using MAX QDA. Two coders (trained doctoral student researchers) established inter-coder reliability with a Kappa greater than 0.80 and used an iterative process to discuss, refine, and describe each theme throughout the analysis.
      Results: Participants described who is involved in ECC and most discussions focused on professional versus parent/caregiver team members. Participants also described how ECC is different from traditional dependency court and several themes, such as Child and Family Friendly, Judicial Leadership, and a Team-Based Approach, aligned with the national model. Emergent themes were Relationships and Success.
      Conclusions: Future research could explore the selection of parents into ECC.
      (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Child maltreatment; Criminal justice; Program evaluation
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20200407 Date Completed: 20210601 Latest Revision: 20210601
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104476
    • Accession Number:
      32251877