In response to cases he was seeing in Forrest County Youth Court, Judge Michael McPhail took a chance. In 2005, he inquired about a pilot program spearheaded by the Zero to Three organization in Washington, DC. Zero to Three had begun Court Teams in key sites around the country with the goals of “improving outcomes for maltreated infants and toddlers, reducing the recurrence of abuse and neglect and changing the court’s culture to focus on the needs of infants and toddlers.” Rather than focusing primarily on children’s misbehavior later in life, Court Teams address the needs of infants and toddlers from birth to age three who enter the court as a result of maltreatment and who are candidates for entry into foster care. The intention of this approach is to reduce the likelihood that the children will return to the court in the future and to improve their chances for optimal development and healthy attachment.

Court Teams are led by a judge and typically employ a Community Coordinator to oversee daily operations. Court Teams also consist of many members of the community, including child development specialists, child advocates, community leaders and child health professionals. The Forrest County Court Team consists of up to 40 individuals who represent different organizations and agencies that provide services or advocate for children. These individuals bring together the resources of the community to address the needs of infants and toddlers whose families appear in Forrest County Youth Court, giving children the best odds for optimal development while in foster care placement and beyond.

The Court Team creates a service plan for foster care cases involving infants and toddlers and monitors the cases over time. Each service plan is individualized for the child and their family, and the need for various services in the community are identified and sought for the children and their families by the Court Team. Monthly meetings on each case allow the Court Team to assess the child and family’s progress and continually connect them with the services they need to reach the goals of the service plan.

In order to ensure that children develop healthy attachments, foster care placements are ideally with a relative. The Court Team encourages parent visits with the children and provides services to parents as a part of the service plan. The goal is to reunify the parent and child, but if this is not possible, the Court Team works to keep children’s placements to a minimum.

Pictured Above: Tammy H. Miller, Mississippi Children's Home Services, Court Team Member

"We're able to unravel the problems in the family and get to what will be the real permanent plan faster than if the court team was not in place, so children don't stay in foster care as long. We get to a permanent plan faster."
Tammy H. Miller

The Court Team works with parents to provide them with the services they need to resume a healthy relationship with their child, if possible. Mental health and substance abuse services are provided, as well as parenting classes and instruction in child development.

Ms. Josie Brown, Court Team Community Coordinator, states that the Court Team has benefited from collaborations with numerous local organizations, some expected and some unexpected. She lists Early Head Start, Pinebelt Mental Health and Forrest General Hospital as partners, as well as the founder of Rainbow Dance, a type of dance therapy, who works with the parents involved with the Court Team.

Court Team participants repeatedly credit community collaboration as the primary reason for their success. Not only does collaboration bring resources to the table for Forrest County infants and toddlers, it also allows new connections among Court Team members and strengthens the community as a whole.

Pictured Above: Josie Brown, Court Team Community Coordinator

"I would like to see this program in every county in Mississippi. I think the most important thing that I would like for people to know about the program is that it takes a team. If you're going to make changes in your community wherever you are, it takes a team, and it takes people working together. It can be done in any community, but you have to work together."
Josie Brown

As a result of the Court Team’s efforts, children receive medical and developmental services, have fewer and more permanent placements in foster care and are more likely to be placed with a relative. They are reunified with parents or found a permanent home faster. Children visit with their parents more while in foster care, and parents receive the assistance and skill-building they need to meet their children’s needs and provide a protective, secure environment. Society benefits by having parents who are more stable and better able to participate in community life. In addition, children are able to form healthy attachments and benefit from experiences that foster optimal social, emotional and intellectual development.

Pictured above: Judge Michael W. McPhail, Forrest County Youth Court Judge and Court Team Member

"I think if we can show the successes of this particular program in Forrest County and our work with the Department of Human Services, the university, with our other community providers, that it can be a model that can be replicated by other jurisdictions across the state. Others will look and say, 'Hey, in Mississippi, they are doing the right thing with regard to children and families.'"
Judge Michael W. McPhail

Federal funding has been made available to the Forrest County Court Team. The funding was initially procured by Senator Thad Cochran and is reevaluated every year. Local grants have been used to supplement the funding and to provide additional services.

Court Team members agree that this program could, and should, be replicated throughout the state. Clearly, instituting this program on the state level would benefit all Mississippians by ensuring that all children have an opportunity for optimal development, a prerequisite for stable and prosperous communities.

Concerned citizens throughout the state acting on behalf of children, particularly those involved in child welfare and youth courts, can form exploratory groups to evaluate implementation of this program in their area. Furthermore, all citizens can advocate for state-level implementation with Mississippi policymakers.

Creation of Court Teams throughout the state would increase the quality of life for many of Mississippi’s children and families. It would also make headway in reducing the number of children in foster care for extended periods. Children would be more likely to grow into better educated, productive members of society. Attempting to change behaviors of adults who, as children, did not have access to stable, secure or nurturing environments is much harder than having a positive effect before a child’s brain has completely developed. Therefore, the Court Team approach is greatly needed in counties across Mississippi.

To read the Forrest County Court Team Success Story in full, please download the MS KIDS COUNT 2008 Data Book here.

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