The Power of the Judiciary: The Impact of Judicial Training on Fidelity for Infant Toddler Court Teams

Background:

Infant toddler court teams (ITCTs) are growing in popularity across the U.S. as a result of evidence that they support positive outcomes (reduced time to permanency, and increased reunification) for maltreated infants and toddlers. However, to achieve these outcomes, systems partners and professionals must fully commit to practicing ITCTs with fidelity to the model. When a major system is unable or unwilling to fully commit to implementing an ITCT, the ability to achieve positive outcomes is impeded. This researcher observed fidelity behaviors for a judicially led ITCT model within an urban midwestern community.  During observation, commitment from the local juvenile court partner began to fail when new judges refused to train in the ITCT model. This study asked whether having a trained judge impacted the fidelity behaviors of the other ITCT professionals trained to work within the model.

 Method: 

The researcher used a newly developed fidelity checklist tool based on the Miami Child Well-Being Court model. The checklist included 42 yes/no questions focused on identifying if professionals were engaging in courtroom behaviors deemed crucial to the model. This study looked specifically at the behaviors of ITCT members who had received training in the model (foster care worker, lawyer guardian ad litem (LGAL), and the Infant Mental Health clinician); behaviors such as making reference to the child’s developmental needs, and advocating for services that supported a strong parent-child relationship. The researcher coded behaviors at the hearings of cases served by the ITCT professionals. A total of 39 hearings were attended, 21 in front of two untrained judges, and 18 in front of two trained judges. Data from completed checklists were entered into SPSS, and the percentage of fidelity behaviors for trained professionals was calculated.

 Results: 

Results indicate that untrained judges had a negative impact on the courtroom fidelity behaviors of clinicians, despite their own training in the model. Clinicians' fidelity behaviors decreased from 60% under trained judges to 43% under untrained judges. Fidelity behaviors for foster care caseworkers stayed the same regardless of judge training (32%), and behaviors for the LGALs increased slightly from trained to untrained judges, 44% to 53%.

 Implications:

These findings have important implications for further implementation of ITCTs. Specifically, they highlight: 1) a possible connection between judges' training status and clinicians' fidelity behaviors, 2) a possible training issue in the lower percentages of fidelity behaviors in foster care caseworkers across the board, and 3) a lack of impact of judge training on LGAL behaviors.  While more analysis is needed, these outcomes indicate that professionals who traditionally do not engage in court based work may require support from a trained judge to accurately practice an ITCT model within a stressful courtroom setting. Because of their familiarity with the environment, professionals who are more accustomed to the courtroom (lawyers and caseworkers) may be able to practice ITCT models successfully regardless of judicial training.  Practicing the model with fidelity holds promise for infants, toddlers and their families and provides lessons about successful implementation of innovations in child welfare.