'Statewide Baby Court Federal Grant Opportunity' to be explored in webinar

The Michigan Judicial Insitute and Child Welfare Services will conduct a webinar on “Statewide Baby Court Federal Grant Opportunity” Friday, March 18, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

This program will provide participants with a short overview of a new federal grant opportunity to increase the spread and coordination of Baby Court and to integrate Baby Court teams into early childhood systems of care. Michigan currently has three Baby Court programs in Wayne, Midland, and Genesee counties. The Wayne Court Baby Court will share its experience and successes, as well as strategies to build a strong baby court team. This is an opportunity for communities interested in developing a Baby Court program to learn how to get started and to express interest in being a potential site for the project, if awarded the grant funding.

Speaking at the webinar will be Katy Allen, chief referee, Family Division, Third Circuit Court, Wayne County; and Ann M. Stacks, director, Infant Mental Health Program, Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, WSU.

This training is intended for all juvenile court judges, referees, court staff, prosecutors, attorneys, Lawyer-Guardians Ad Litem, MDHHS, private agency partners, tribes, and infant mental health providers.

To register for the webinar, visit https://mjieducation.mi.gov and click on “events.” After a registration is approved, attendees will receive a confirmation e-mail from Zoom. The email will include login information.