Fort Lauderdale, FL – Designed to help the youngest of us all, the 17th Judicial Circuit court has established Early Childhood Court, a voluntary specialty court with an intensive program aimed at reunifying children in the dependency court system, aged newborn to five years old, with their families.
Presided over by Judge Hope Bristol and General Magistrate Randi Boven, Early Childhood Court seeks to heal, support and enhance child-parent relationships by utilizing child-parent psychotherapy, specialized parenting classes, increased visitation, and frequent court hearings about every 4 – 6 weeks. Monthly “family team meetings” consisting of a facilitator, the participant, and family and friends of the participant are also part of the program.
Families who meet the criteria to participate can expect to dedicate a year in the program.
Full details of the 17th Circuit’s newest specialized court can be found in Administrative Order 2016-4-UFC.
