(COLORADO SPRINGS) — At the El Paso County Courthouse, there is an area designated for the littlest of visitors, filled with all sorts of toys with colorful creations hanging from the walls. This area is known as Court Care, which serves children from six weeks to fourteen years old and is free for families to use.

“Court Care is a free childcare service for when parents have a court appointment and it could be for anything, even if you need to fill out papers or support a family member, you’re more than welcome to use us,” said Court Care Center Director, Brazail Lazard.

One girl pushes a shopping cart throughout the classroom at Court Care.

For the past ten years, Lazard has cared for children of all ages, and along the way, has made some meaningful connections.

“When I’m sitting on my desk, I can hear them laughing and just giggling and that’s the most important thing to me is just the joy of the children and the family,” Lazard said.

Court Care first began in 2003, and since then, a designated space has been inside of the El Paso County Courthouse which has gone on to serve thousands of children.

“We were founded in 2003 after a study was done that the courtroom is no place for a child,” Executive Director of Court Care, Beth Beyer, said. “The things that happened within a courtroom are traumatic. Often the child doesn’t understand what their family is in court for, or they have experienced or witnessed a crime.”

Many brochures are available for families to take inside of Court Care.

This safe place allows for children to be children, playing and interacting with trained staff who bring joy and make learning fun.

“This is good for families that have stuff like domestic issues,” Lazard said. “This is where they can come and bring their children to be in a safe place. We make sure that our doors to the classrooms do stay locked. They can get out, but nobody can get in. We provide excellent service. We do a snack time. We do a curriculum.”

This free service is providing a nurturing environment while parents handle their court matters without worrying about their children.

“What we know from the research is that, sure, even short-term interventions for children who are experiencing a high level of stress can make a difference in how that child deals with trauma, deals with the conflict within their family, and has the resilience to deal with what’s going on in their world,” said Beyer.

From six weeks old to fourteen years old, children are welcomed into Court Care.

While care and laughter come from the littlest of visitors, these staff members go beyond offering an additional layer of support for the parents.

“Some parents even asked if I can say a prayer for them when they go up there,” Lazard stated. “I do that, when they come back down, they tell me, ‘thank you, everything went good.’ I don’t know, it’s just the feeling of helping these families in need and watching the children just have fun and come in.”

Since 2003, Court Care has cared for children while their parents were in court.

Court Care is open Monday through Friday with two classrooms for different age ranges. While this is a free service, donations are greatly appreciated in helping them continue to serve the community. They take donations online and are also looking for more classroom items.

At the end of the day, this program and the people inside are working tirelessly to ease concerns for Southern Colorado families when visiting court.

 “As you can imagine, knowing that their children are safe, knowing that their children are protected from what’s going on, gives them the concentration and the focus to be able to deal with whatever it is that they need to deal with in their court related business,” said Beyer.