10-04-2025
Blount County launches Tennessee Safe Baby Court program
BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A new initiative launching in Blount County is aimed at protecting children ages 0 to 3.
The Tennessee Safe Baby Court program began in 2017 and has now expanded to Blount County.
'Children are their most vulnerable and most resilient at this age, so if children are removed from their home into the child welfare system at this age, the long-term effects of that trauma are significant,' Blount County Juvenile Court Judge Kenlyn Foster said.
Those effects can vary depending on each child.
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'That long-term trauma results in greater incidents of mental health conditions, substance abuse disorders, higher drop out rates among that population as well as more involvement in the juvenile justice system and in the criminal justice system,' Foster said.
The program is focused on children ages 0 to 3 who are involved in the child welfare system.
'The purpose of Safe Baby Courts is to have a highly focused, multi-disciplinary team that has court involvement and oversight,' Foster said. 'We bring these families in very frequently to look at what's going on in the family and we wrap the family with lots of support.'
Foster believes this program will help the next generation.
'We have such a high rate of neo-natal absence syndrome, babies and fetal alcohol syndrome,' Judge Foster said. 'We see a lot of involvement with opioids. We see a lot of involvement with housing instability just people who are really struggling.'
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Debby Skyler, the Family Resource Director for Maryville City Schools, attended the training and echoes Foster.
'We need to start with the early ones and whatever we can do to influence and impact them we need to do,' Skyler said. 'Whether it be safe places for them to live, figuring out what they need educationally, because we do have preschool programs and we do identify children from 3 years and up.'
6 News was told studies show this program can decrease the amount of time a child is in foster care and connect families to services they need.
'I know how important it is that we have input into children's lives and so whatever we can do to make lives safer and remove any barriers for those children is what we want to do,' Skyler said.
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There is another training on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Maryville.
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