DeLauro, Safe Babies Court Team Announce Federal Grant for Expansion from New Haven to Milford

NEW HAVEN, CT—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), joined by Connecticut Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz and advocates for infants and toddlers, today announced that the Safe Babies Court Team project is expanding from New Haven to Milford. The Court Team works to improve how the courts, child welfare agencies, and related child-serving organizations work together, share information, and expedite services for young children in state custody.

“Children served by the Court Teams, who have often experienced some sort of abuse or neglect, do better across a range of welfare indicators and they exit the foster care system sooner,” said DeLauro. “Experts from as far away as the United Kingdom have studied our practices in New Haven and now children in the Milford area will benefit as well. I could not be prouder to have advocated for this expansion and look forward to seeing the results.”

Also joining DeLauro and Katz at today’s announcement were: Myra Jones-Taylor, Commissioner of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood; Matthew Melmed, Executive Director of ZERO TO THREE; Michael Steers, Region 2 Administrator for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families; and Janice Currier-Ezepchick, Region 2 Director for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

The funding for the expansion comes from a United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant. DeLauro, senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding that department, supported the funding in a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. Connecticut has just one of six demonstration sites across the nation, and the only one in New England.


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