Safe Baby Court launches in Hamilton County

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Tuesday morning, the Safe Baby Court launched in Hamilton County. Hamilton County is one of a dozen counties in Tennessee to provide a program for parents who are working to regain custody of their young children.

“There’s not a better way we can put public dollars to use than to invest in the youngest citizens in our community,” said Hamilton County Mayor, Weston Wamp.

The Safe Baby Court program will provide those with community connections and access to services with the ultimate goal of providing a safe forever home for children.

“This could be the most important policy innovation in the last ten years. It’s that important, and I hope people recognize that,” said Chattanooga Mayor, Tim Kelly.

All of Hamilton County is behind the Safe Baby Court program and Mayor Tim Kelly believes this program will help kids find their permanent homes.

“All those things we spend so much time and energy trying to mitigate that if we focus our resources at the head of the stream to find the problem, we can really make a bigger impact,” said Mayor Kelly.

The national average time for a child to be put in a permanent home is around three years, and officials of the Safe Baby Court program have the stats to prove why it’s so effective.

“Only two children out of 500 have had to come back into state custody…That is a win for the child, that’s a win for the family, it’s a win for the judicial system, and it’s a win for the taxpayer,” said Tennessee State Senator for District 18, Farrell Haile.

The Safe Baby court program has a goal to get children in a permanent home within 9 to 12 months, but the ultimate goal is for kids to be out of state custody and into a loving family.