Eligibility Criteria
The Early Childhood Court Team shall have discretion regarding the acceptance of cases. At a minimum, cases with the following criteria shall be identified referral eligible for the problem-solving Early Childhood Court before the Early Childhood Court Judge:
- The dependency case involves a family with a child or children who are ages 0-3
- Parental commitment to engage in all recommended services
- Parental commitment to regularly engage in visitation, as outlined by court order
- Anticipated goal of reunification
- Priority will be given to pregnant and parenting teens in child welfare, when applicable.
Exclusionary Criteria
Families may be excluded from participation in Early Childhood Court for reasons including, but not limited to:
- Criminal history disqualification involving a prior or current offense by the parent who has perpetrated an egregious act of violence, sex crime, or other aggravated child abuse crime
- The parent is incarcerated for an extended period of time and unable to actively participate in ECC services
- The parent suffering from a significant mental health condition or severe intellectual disability that would prevent active and consistent participation in all recommended services
- Parent is a Dependency Treatment Court participant, or the parent has substance abuse or substance use issues and is not willing to participate in treatment for the substance abuse or substance misuse, or the parent has not been successful in behavior modification and refraining from use of substances that prevent meaningful participation in the Early Childhood Court.