Infant-Toddler Court Evaluation

A child’s early relationships matter. So does the community response to family challenges such as poverty, domestic violence, and mental health issues.

The Infant-Toddler Court Program at ZERO TO THREE is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It aims to improve the health and well-being of infants, toddlers, and families in or at risk of involvement in the child welfare system—all with an eye toward early child development. State and local awardees of the program collaborate with court, child welfare, and other family-serving professionals to better understand family needs and establish needed supports and services. The program prioritizes parent voice, both in shaping their own experiences and in contributing to systemwide change.

JBA supports ZERO TO THREE in implementing a grant to advance the national reach, impact, and sustainability of the Infant-Toddler Court Program by—

• Providing tailored evaluation technical assistance to program awardees
• Evaluating program effectiveness for each awardee site and understanding the broader system impact

We work with awardees to identify common challenges, areas of concern, and opportunities for networking and information sharing. Our evidence-building evaluation design includes three phases: (1) information gathering, (2) formative evaluation, and (3) summative evaluation. We consider where sites are in their implementation process to determine when they should enter the next evaluation phase. Summative evaluations will include a quasi-experimental design using propensity score matching to create treatment and comparison groups from the same state.

We infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into our work. For example, we guide awardees on applying equity principles to selected measures, data sources, and methods. We also apply feedback and guidance from an evaluation expert advisory group that includes parents with lived experience in the child welfare system.