Strong Starts for Kids

The Strong Starts Court Initiative improves outcomes for babies and their families involved in Family Court.

Strong Starts seeks to address problems—like the traumas linked to poverty, homelessness, and parental mental health and substance use disorders—that bring thousands of infants and toddlers into Family Court. The initiative provides these young children and their families with individualized support and access to a network of community-based providers to enhance family stability and reduce long-term impacts, including developmental delays and social-emotional problems. 
 
After launching Strong Starts in Bronx Family Court in 2015, we now have programs in both Queens and Staten Island. To date, we’ve worked with 118 infants and toddlers and more than 250 caregivers.
 
Strong Starts is one of many programs we run that are bringing new, effective strategies to the front lines of justice. Visit our program page to see the breadth of our work and follow us on Twitter to keep up with the latest news.

News and Updates

• NJTV visits Newark Youth Court, where teens run the court
• Two new publications help reformers respond to the opioid crisis
• Our New Thinking podcast features Thomas Abt, author of Bleeding Out