## PARTICIPANT PACKET

***Model Court Practices in Abuse and Neglect Cases***

![](media/image1.png)

## A Live National Satellite Broadcast

######## 

######## 

######## Produced by the

**Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention**

#### U.S. Department of Justice

######## And the

**Juvenile Justice Telecommunications Assistance Project**

**Eastern Kentucky University---Training Resource Center**

*In cooperation with the*

### National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

### Permanency Planning for Children Department

*And the*

### U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

### Children's Bureau

**Model Court Practices in Abuse and**

**Neglect Cases**

INDEX

I.  Agenda...................................................3

**II.** Overview of Model Court Practices..................4

**III.** Overview of El Paso, Texas Program................7

**IV.** Overview of Louisville, Kentucky Program........9

**V.** Overview of Newark, New Jersey Program......\...11

**VI.** List of Model Courts...................................13

**IX.** Model Court Practices Resources...................14

**X.** Program Panelists.....................................20

**XI.** Previous Satellite Videoconferences...............23

**XII.** Evaluation Form.......................................24

***This document was prepared by the Eastern Kentucky University
Training Resource Center under grant#95-JN-MU-0001 from the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs,
U.S. Dept. of Justice. Points of view or opinions stated in this
document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
official position or policies of the U.S. Dept. of Justice.***

**Model Court Practices in Abuse and Neglect Cases**

**AGENDA**

**February 10, 2000**

\*All times listed are EST and approximate

-   1:00-1:30 PM Pre-conference Site Activities; Test Slate

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-   1:30-1:35 PM Overview Videotape

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-   1:35-1:45 PM Welcome/Introduction/Overview

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-   1:45-1:55 PM Video Overview of Model Court -- El Paso, TX

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-   1:55-2:17 PM Panel Discussion/Participant Call-in

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-   2:17-2:27 PM Video Overview of Model Court-Newark, NJ

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-   2:27-2:49 PM Panel Discussion/Participant Call-in

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-   2:49-2:59 PM Video Overview of Model Court-Louisville, KY

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-   2:59-3:25 PM Panel Discussion/Participant Call-in

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-   3:25-3:30 PM OJJDP Coming Events/Closing

Model Court Practices in Abuse and Neglect Cases

Overview

**[Introduction]{.underline}**

In 1997, just under one million children were the victims of child abuse
and neglect. Child Protective Service agencies in forty-one states
reported that 967 of these children died as the result of abuse or
neglect. Since not all child maltreatment fatalities are reported to
these agencies, it can be assumed that the number of deaths exceeded
1000. Maltreated children are found in all income, racial and ethnic
groups, and incidence rates are similar in urban, suburban, and rural
communities.

Many of the victims of maltreatment are placed in foster homes, which
are designed to be temporary placements. In 1998, children in foster
care numbered 520,000 and over 34% had been in foster care for 3 years
or more. Failure to find permanent placements deprive children of a
sense of security, which can have devastating effects on children who
have already been abused or neglected.. As many as 60 percent of
children who outgrow the foster care system become homeless at least
once during the first year upon leaving foster care.

**[Efforts To Reform the System]{.underline}**

In 1992, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
(NCJFCJ) established the Child Victims Model Court Project with funding
provided from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Its goal is to educate judges and other practitioners on the need to
expeditiously secure permanent placements for all maltreated children,
either by making it possible for them to safely return home or finding
them safe adoptive homes. This project aims to prevent further
victimization of abused and neglected children through improved court
policies and practices.

The first activity of the Project was to develop guidelines for juvenile
and family court judges to follow in the processing of child abuse and
neglect cases. A committee comprised of judges, court administrators,
attorneys, child welfare experts, and others developed a bench book,
entitled *RESOURCE GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse
and Neglect Cases* which was issued in 1995. Endorsed by both the
American Bar Association and the Conference of Chief Justices, it is a
national blueprint for courts, providing step-by-step recommendations on
how to improve court practices. The bench book identifies key aspects of
fair hearings and bench practices at all stages of court proceedings,
and underscores the importance of timely permanency for children,
substantive hearings, representation for all parties, the one judge/one
family concept, and the necessity of judicial leadership and system
accountability in dependency practice. Many court improvement programs
and individual courts have used it to improve practices in child abuse
and neglect cases.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-66) established
a new grant program to help State courts improve their handling of
proceedings relating to foster care and adoption. Beginning the FY 1995,
51 States, including the District of Columbia, have received funding
from the Children's Bureau under the Court Improvement Program. The
State Court Improvement Program provides State Courts with the
opportunity to work and collaborate with other interested parties -- all
the projects are working intensively with their counterparts in the
child welfare agencies on comprehensive system reform and developing a
joint agenda for change. States also receive funds to improve the
handling of child abuse and neglect cases under the Children's Justice
Act, administered by the Children's Bureau and funded under the Crime
Victims Fund in the Department of Justice. The Children's Justice Act
requires the formation of a State multi-disciplinary task force composed
of all the professionals involved in the handling of these complex
cases.

In November, 1997, The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) amended
Public Law 96-272, the 1970 Federal law which established a clear focus
on the need for permanency for children in foster care and the
importance of permanency planning and timely decision-making for these
children. ASFA requires that child safety be the paramount concern in
making service provision, placement and permanency planning decisions.
It reaffirms the importance of making reasonable efforts to preserve and
reunify families, but also specifies that States are not required to
make efforts to keep children with their parents when doing so places a
child's safety in jeopardy. To ensure that the system respects a child's
developmental needs, the law includes provisions that shorten the time
frame for making permanency planning decisions and establish a time
frame for initiating proceedings to terminate parental rights. ASFA also
requires a focus on results and accountability and makes it clear that
it is no longer enough to ensure that procedural safeguards are met. It
is critical that child welfare services lead to positive outcomes for
children. All States have enacted legislation implementing ASFA.

**[Development of Model Courts]{.underline}**

Following the publication of the *RESOURCE GUIDELINES,* the National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges focused its efforts on
identifying "Lead Judges" in several State courts that were willing to
accept responsibility to spearhead system reform changes. The goal of
these changes was to provide children with a permanent resolution of
their cases as expeditiously as possible. The first Model Court was the
Hamilton County Juvenile Court in Cincinnati, Ohio, under the leadership
of the Honorable David E. Grossman.

Today, there are twenty Model Courts representing a wide variety of
jurisdictions ranging from large urban centers to smaller communities.
These Courts have implemented a variety of programs that can be
replicated by other courts. For example, reorganized one family/one
judge court calendars ensure that judicial decision makers assigned to
specific dependency cases remain on those cases until the children
involved achieve permanence.

Family group conferencing and mediation programs have been incorporated
into many Model Court jurisdictions. As the health and safety of the
child are of paramount concerns, many courts have expanded preliminary
protective hearings to ensure that related issues are substantively
investigated at the early stages of child abuse and neglect cases.
Scheduling hearings at specific times, implementing strict continuance
policies, establishing Family Drug Courts, and developing
state-of-the-art information management systems are goals of several
Model Courts, while others are focusing on increasing adoptions.

While Model Courts may vary in actual practices, they share the
fundamental goal of seeking to achieve timely permanent placements.
Other Model Courts are striving to decrease the number of cases under
court supervision by examining records and clearing case backlogs.

**[Need for Collaboration]{.underline}**

Although judicial leadership is critically important to the change
process, it is not enough. Meaningful and sustainable systems change can
only occur through concerted collaborative efforts on the part of all
systems professionals. In particular, child welfare agencies and courts
must work together to develop a common understanding of each other's
responsibilities and concerns to produce better outcomes for children
and families. Under the Adoption Opportunities Program, the Children's
Bureau is funding discretionary programs to test the efficacy of
facilitating collaboration between agencies and courts.

Within each Model Court, collaborative relationships have been developed
and all stakeholders have been brought to the table. Each of the Model
Court team members and stakeholders involved in reform efforts also
makes a commitment of time, effort, and personnel resources.

The purpose of this videoconference is to provide participants with
state-of-the art information about how to improve the handling of abuse
and neglect cases. Discussions will include the importance of judicial
leadership and community collaborations. It will feature the following
three Model Court programs: Newark, New Jersey, Louisville, Kentucky and
El Paso, Texas

**65^th^ JUDICIAL DISTRICT, CHILDRENS COURT**

**EL PASO, TEXAS**

**Lead Judge:** **Hon. Patricia A. Macias**

Title: Associate Judge

Court/Organization: 65^th^ Judicial District, Childrens Court

Address: 500 E. San Antonio Street

City/State/Zip: El Paso, Texas 79901

Telephone: (915) 546-2147

Fax: (915) 543-3811

Email: **[PMACIAS@co.el-paso.tx.us]{.underline}**

***A Brief History of the El Paso Model Court***

The El Paso Childrens Court became a Model Court of the National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in February, 1997 under the
leadership of Associate Judge Patricia A. Macias. El Pasos Childrens
Court falls under the jurisdiction of the 65^th^ Judicial District
Court. The Childrens Court has one associate judge, Judge Macias, who
handles all abuse and neglect proceedings up to termination of parental
rights hearings. However, the associate judge can hear uncontested
terminations (i.e., relinquishments or waivers). The judge of the 65^th^
District Court, Hon. Alfredo Chavez, handles all contested termination
matters de novo, and ascribes these cases the highest priority. Unlike
many jurisdictions around the country, termination of parental rights
hearings in El Paso often involve a jury trial.

The El Paso Model Court has worked hard to establish a positive
collaborative relationship with all stakeholders in the child welfare
system. One example of this collaborative effort, is the El Paso Model
Court Advisory Committee. Chaired by the associate judge, the advisory
committee includes foster parents, child protective services workers and
supervisors, mental health professionals, attorneys ad litem, assistant
county attorneys, CASA representatives, service providers, and
representatives of the university community. The Model Court Advisory
Committee regularly convenes to set priorities for Model Court
initiatives and to monitor Model Court practices. The purpose of the
Committee is to provide a forum for the discussion and development of
innovative practices, as well as policies on how dependency cases will
be handled in El Pasos child protection system. The Committee is
charged with changing the way the court does business for the benefit of
all participants in the dependency process.

The El Paso Childrens Court also uses local networks of professionals
to increase community awareness of problems associated with child abuse
and neglect. More than 85 community members serve on various advisory
subcommittees on mediation, assessment foster homes, foster parent
standards, teen issues, and adoption. Community members are helping to
increase local and regional awareness of the need to expedite adoption
of formerly abused or neglected children.

***A Snapshot of Accomplishments***

development and implementation of Assessment Foster Homes Initiative;

implementation of dependency mediation program;

simultaneous language interpretation for all non-English speaking court
participants;

court orders are drafted on the bench and distributed immediately after
each hearing;

consistent format for case plans and improved quality of case plans;

improved attendance by all parties (including parents and relatives) at
court hearings;

special guardians *ad litem* are appointed for undocumented children to
ensure they are not returned to their home country if reunification is
not the permanency plan;

video conference hearings now enable children placed in out-of-county
residential treatment facilities to participate in their hearings;

child welfare and termination cases given top priority by court;

improved training for attorneys, foster parents, and other key
practitioners;

front-loaded services are provided early in the progress of each case
to provide all possible opportunities for family rehabilitation and safe
family reunification;

regular appearance of foster parents at hearings and involvement of
foster parents in Model Court Advisory Committees;

development of family group conferencing program (*Familias Primero 
Families First*);

case processing time frames have been narrowed and court procedures
streamlined; and

increased respect and positive public attention for the court.

For more information about the El Paso Model Court, please contact:

Sophia I. Gatowski, Ph.D.

Research Specialist/Model Court Liaison

Permanency Planning for Children Department

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

P.O. Box 8970

Reno, NV 89507

> ph: (775) 327-5305 fax: (775) 327-2393

email: **[gatowski@pppncjfcj]{.underline}**

**JEFFERSON COUNTY FAMILY COURT**

**LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY**

**Lead Judge:** **Hon. Richard J. FitzGerald**

Presiding Judge

Court/Organization: Jefferson Family Court

Address: Jefferson County Judicial Center

700 West Jefferson Street, Suite 220

City/State/Zip: Louisville, Kentucky 40202-4730

Telephone: (502) 595-4736

Fax: (502) 595-3482

Email: **[RichardF@mail.aoc.state.ky.us]{.underline}**

***A Brief History of the Louisville Model Court*:**

Under the leadership of Chief Justice Robert Stephens, Jefferson County
was designated as the first Family Court Pilot Project in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Jefferson Family Court began hearing cases
in April of 1991.

The Jefferson Family Court has been an active partner with other legal,
social services, and non-profit agencies in the development and
implementation of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court
Judges Victims Model Court Project which sets goals for court
improvement in child abuse and neglect cases and the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges Diversion Model Court Project which
utilizes mediation to divert cases from formal court and Family Group
Decision Making to develop safety plans that protect children.

The Jefferson Family Court has been a partner with the Jefferson County
Public School system, the Circuit and District courts, as well as other
social services agencies, in the development and implementation of a
Truancy Prevention Project to keep children safe and in school.

This year was highlighted by the move of Family Court into the newly
constructed Jefferson County Judicial Center in February. The building
contains spacious, state-of-the-art courtrooms, ample waiting rooms for
families, separate waiting areas for children and victims, consultation
rooms for attorneys, conference rooms for meeting space, and office
space for on-site staff for agencies providing related services such as
CASA, victims advocates, the Board of Education, and mental health
services. The building also offers increased safety features which
provides greater security to judges, staff, litigants and attorneys. In
the larger quarters, the team has noted that it is important to make
time to communicate regularly with each other as the increased space has
resulted in some isolation of the building inhabitants, reducing the
opportunity for informal communication.

***A Snapshot of Accomplishments:***

-   Development and implementation of community mediation. The process
    of court/agency/community collaboration engaged in by the Kentucky
    Model Court team is detailed in the NCJFCJ publication, The
    Diversion Matrix. Contact Chris Bailey at (775) 784-6675 for this
    publication;

-   Development and implementation of family group conferencing;

-   Implementation of the Adoptions Opportunity Project. This program is
    designed to positively impact the timely adoption of children
    through the use of concurrent planning, implementation of a risk
    matrix, establishing continuity of legal representation and
    recruiting and training foster care/adoptive homes;

-   Implementation of Family Place Visitation Center. The program of
    supervised access and supervised exchange began in August 1998 and
    accepts court referrals from the Dependency, Abuse and Neglect
    dockets and is currently limited to Adoption Opportunity Project
    cases.

-   Inclusion of bench, bar and agency in Court projects through:

-weekly meetings of team members

-establishment of working subcommittees

> -drafting and dissemination of publications including training
> curriculums and circuit judges bench book; and

-   Development of Truancy Court. This school-based collaborative effort
    between the Jefferson County Public Schools and the Family Court
    focuses on improving student attendance and diverting children from
    the court system by bringing students and parents before a volunteer
    Family Court judge on a weekly basis and enhancing social services
    for families.

For more information about the Victims Model Court Project, the
Diversion Project and other projects, please contact:

Christine L. Bailey, Esq.

Senior Attorney/Model Court Liaison

Permanency Planning for Children Department

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

PO Box 8970

Reno, Nevada 89507

> Phone: (775) 784-6675 Fax: (775) 327-2393
>
> email: **[cbailey@pppncjfcj.org]{.underline}**

or

Mr. Jim Birmingham

Family Court Administrator

Jefferson County Judicial Center

700 West Jefferson Street, Suite 220

Louisville, Kentucky 40202-4730

Phone: (502) 595-4392

**Essex County Model Court**

**Newark, New Jersey**

**Lead Judge: Thomas P. Zampino**

Title: Family Court Judge

Court/Organization: Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division

Address: 212 Washington St.,

City/State/Zip: Newark, NJ 07102

Telephone: (973) 693-6706

Fax: (973) 693-6636

***A Brief History*** ***of the Newark Model Court***

The Superior Court of New Jersey Family Court is a Unified Family Court.
All civil actions which have a principle claim arising out of a family
or family-type relationship including child abuse and neglect,
divorce/dissolution, child support, private custody, adoption, and civil
domestic violence fall within the jurisdiction of the Family Court. The
Court also has jurisdiction over criminal and quasi-criminal actions
that arise out of a family or family-type relationship (e.g., criminal
domestic violence, delinquency).

Each judge consistently works with the same Deputy Attorney General and
Law Guardian as a court team. Every child is assigned a law guardian
(attorney) at the initial hearing. The Family Division Manager is the
equivalent of a court administrator for the entire Family Division. The
Children in Court (CIC) Team Coordinator position is similar to a
Dependency Coordinator position in other Model Courts. The CIC team and
its coordinator manage the Children in Placement Review (CPR) Review
Boards and provide clerical support for abuse/neglect cases.

The Model Childrens Court Advisory Committee plays a crucial role in
court and agency improvements efforts in Essex County Model Court. The
Advisory Committee meets once a month and is composed of representatives
from the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), Child in
Placement Review (CPR) Boards, Attorney Generals Office, Law Guardians,
Counsel for Parents, Prosecutors Office, Administrative Office of the
Courts District Offices, child maltreatment professionals, Foster
Parents, Adoption Resource Center (ARC), Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA), and Judges (all with dependency docket). Approximately
40 people are typically in attendance and everyone is given the
opportunity to participate. As a consequence of the success of the
Advisory Committee in Essex County, a Children-in-Court Advisory
Committee has been established at the state level. And, through a joint
resolution by the Presiding Judges and the Administrative Office of the
Courts, each county (21 total) has also been directed to develop a
separate Advisory Committee.

***A Snapshot of Accomplishments***

-   Put a Face on a File (a photo of the child is attached to the case
    file);

-   Established a multi-disciplinary Model Childrens Court Advisory
    Committee;

-   Expanded training programs for Division of Youth and Family Services
    (DYFS) caseworkers and volunteers;

-   Implemented pre-hearing conferences;

-   Reduced the average time to disposition for the life of the abuse
    and neglect complaint and the TPR complaint from a total of 3.5
    years in Court Year 1998 to a total of 2.4 years in Court Year 1999;
    Reduced the time to disposition for abuse and neglect cases from
    31.7 months to 23.6 months; Reduced the average time from
    disposition to the filing of the termination of parental rights
    complaint from 10.9 months to 6 months;

-   Developed a Relative Resource Form to facilitate the early
    identification of family resources;

-   Enacted legislation to provide paid attorney representation for
    parents and law guardians for children through the termination of
    parental rights. Prior to passage of this legislation,
    representation at the termination stage was *pro bono*;

-   Developed client brochures providing overviews of the court process
    and expectations, parental rights and responsibilities;

-   Implemented a six month term limit on all voluntary placements;

-   Instituted procedure to provide notice to foster parents. The case
    worker is now required to send the foster parent(s) a standard
    letter advising them of the next court date and time;

-   Developed and implemented a dependency mediation program;

-   Developed and implemented family case conferencing (i.e., family
    group decision making); and

-   Instituted court drug assessments the day of the hearing.

For more information about the Newark Model Court please contact:

Shirley A. Dobbin, Ph.D.

Research Specialist/Model Court Liaison

Permanency Planning for Children Department

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

> Tel: (775) 327-5304 Fax: (775) 327-2393
>
> email: **[dobbin@pppncjfcj.org]{.underline}**

**1999-2000 CHILD VICTIMS PROJECT MODEL COURTS AND LEAD JUDGES**

**Alexandria, Virginia**

Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Honorable Stephen W. Rideout

**Buffalo, New York**

Erie County Juvenile Court

Honorable Sharon S. Townsend

**Charlotte, North Carolina**

Mecklenburg County Juvenile Court

Honorable William G. Jones

**Chicago, Illinois**

Circuit Court of Cook County

Child Protection Division

Honorable Nancy Sidote Salyers

**Cincinnati, Ohio**

Hamilton County Juvenile Court

Honorable David E. Grossmann

**El Paso, Texas**

65^th^ Judicial District Court

Childrens Court

Honorable Patricia A. Macias

**Honolulu, Hawaii**

Family Court, First Circuit, State of Hawaii

Honorable Bode A. Uale

**Indianapolis, Indiana**

Marion Superior Court, Juvenile Division

Honorable James W. Payne

**Los Angeles, California**

Los Angeles Superior Court

Childrens Court

Honorable Michael Nash

**Louisville, Kentucky**

Jefferson County Family Court

Honorable Richard J. FitzGerald

**Miami, Florida**

11^th^ Judicial Circuit Court

Miami-Dade County Juvenile Court

Honorable Steven D. Robinson

**Nashville, Tennessee**

Juvenile Court of Davidson County

Honorable Betty Adams Green

**New Orleans, Louisiana**

Orleans Parish Juvenile Court

Honorable Ernestine S. Gray

**New York City, New York**

New York City Family Court

Honorable Joseph Lauria

**Newark, New Jersey**

Superior Court of New Jersey

Family Division

Honorable Thomas P. Zampino

**Portland, Oregon**

Multnomah County Juvenile Court

Honorable Stephen B. Herrell

**Reno, Nevada**

2^nd^ Judicial District Court, Family Division

Honorable Charles M. McGee

Honorable Deborah Schumacher

**Salt Lake City, Utah**

3^rd^ District Juvenile Court

Honorable Sharon P. McCully

**San Jose, California**

Santa Clara County Superior Court

Juvenile Dependency Division

Honorable Leonard P. Edwards

**Tucson, Arizona**

Pima County Juvenile Court

Honorable Patricia G. Escher

**MODEL COURT PRACTICES RESOURCES**

1\. Model Courts Serve Abused and Neglected Children (OJJDP Fact Sheet
#90)

Available from OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

1-800-638-8736 or Web site www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm

2\. Permanency Planning for Abused and Neglected Children (OJJDP Fact
Sheet

#65)

Available from OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

1-800-638-8736 or Web site
[www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm](http://www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm)

3.  OJJDP Website [www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org](http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/)

4.  National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Permanency
    Planning for Children

> Department-Order form for publications -- See page 15-16

5.  National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information -- See
    page 17

6.  Children's Justice Act Fact Sheet -- See page 18

7.  State Court Improvement Program Fact Sheet -- See page 19

**NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JUDGES**

**Permanency Planning for Children Department**

**ORDER FORM for PUBLICATIONS**

***RESOURCE GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse &
Neglect Cases (*Guides juvenile and family courts in assessing and
implementing improvements in handling of child abuse and neglect
cases.)**

**\_\_\_\_\_ \$10.00 per copy**

***Making Reasonable Efforts: Steps for Keeping Families Together*
(Outlines responsibilities of attorneys, judges, and agency personnel in
ensuring reasonable efforts are made to prevent removal of child from a
family or to safely reunite the family, if appropriate.)**

**\_\_\_\_\_ \$7.00 per copy**

***Protocol for Making Reasonable Efforts to Preserve Families in
Drug-Related Dependency Cases* (Provides model questions to guide risk
assessment and identify the family preservation service needs of
drug-exposed families.)**

**\_\_\_\_\_ \$5.00 per copy**

***Reasonable Efforts Training Video Notebook* (8 tapes plus
directory)**

**\_\_\_\_\_ 3-week loan of the Video Notebook @ no charge**

**\_\_\_\_\_ Purchase of Video Notebook @ \$100.00**

***Juvenile and Family Court JOURNAL: Permanency Planning Issue***

**\_\_\_\_\_ \$3.00 per copy**

***Diversion Project Matrix: A Report From Four Sites Examining The
Court**s Role in Diverting Families From Traditional Child Welfare
Services into Community-Based Programs***

**\_\_\_\_\_ \$12.00 per copy**

**Technical Assistance Bulletins:**

** One: *Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: A National Analysis of State
Statutes* (This document provides a view of state child welfare statutes
at a particular point in time (June 1997) in order to memorialize
existing law and to serve as a baseline to analyze the State Court
Improvement reforms.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_ \$12.00 per copy***

** *Two: Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Examining State Statutes in
Everyday Practice* (Provides a national picture of existing child abuse
and neglect statutes and an examination of how well these statutes
translate into everyday practice.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_ \$7.00 per copy***

** Three: *Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Representation as a Critical
Component of Effective Practice* (Presents both strengths and challenges
of effective representation, identifies some of the major barriers, and
presents recommendations to improve and maintain high quality
representation of parents and children in child abuse and neglect
cases.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_ \$12.00 per copy***

** Four: *Summaries of Twenty-Five State Court Improvement* *Assessment
Reports* (This bulletin utilizes the information produced by states
which underwent the self assessment process to examine areas of
commonality found in the assessment reports and to encourage and keep
alive the enthusiasm for court improvement.)**

**\_\_\_\_\_ *\$12.00 per copy ***

** Five: *Thinking About Program Evaluation: What Is It and Why Should
You Do It?* (Provides the basic tools necessary to plan and conduct an
effective program evaluation.)**

** *\_\_\_\_\_ \$8.00 per copy***

-   **Six: *Judicial Leadership and Judicial Practice in Child Abuse and
    Neglect Cases* (Presents an overview of effective leaders and
    effective leadership.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_ \$7.00 per copy* Seven: *Adoption Roundtable: A Summary
of Judicial Concerns About Permanent Placement of Children in the United
States & the United Kingdom* (Topics such as permanency planning for
children, best interests, reasonable efforts, training, collaboration,
judicial leadership, and kinship care which were addressed at the first
international Adoption Roundtable focusing on children in governmental
care due to abuse or neglect are covered in this publication.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_ \$7.00 per copy***

** Eight: *Child Victims Project Model Courts Status Report:1997-98*
(Describes collaborative Model Court achievements with the goal of
encouraging courts to think collaboratively and to act imaginatively in
developing new ways of fulfilling court responsibilities to the benefit
of children and families.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_ \$7.00 per copy***

** Nine: *Information Management: A Critical Component of Good Practice
in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases* (Examines the challenges faced and
lessons learned from jurisdictions and Model Courts around the country
and presents a model for evaluating and enhancing information management
capabilities.)**

***\_\_\_\_\_\$7.00 per copy***

** Ten: *Judge**s Guidebook on Adoption and Other Permanent Homes for
Children***

***\_\_\_\_\_\$12.00 per copy***

** Eleven: *Mini-Conference on Judicial Workloads in Juvenile and
Family Courts***

***\_\_\_\_\_\$7.00 per copy***

** Twelve: *State Court Improvement Projects Bragging Rights***

***\_\_\_\_\_\$7.00 per copy***

** Thirteen: *Child Victims Project Model Courts Status Report:1999***

***\_\_\_\_\_\$9.00 per copy***

** Fourteen: *Judges Reference Guide Managing Juvenile Cases***

***\_\_\_\_\_\$7.00 per copy***

**Mailing address:**

**Name:
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**Title/Organization:
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

**Mailing Address and Suite or
Room.#:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

**City / State / Zip:
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**MasterCard or Visa Number: Expiration Date:**

**Signature:**

***Payment instructions:* *All prices include shipping and handling.
Please include check or money order, made out to NCJFCJ, with your
order. If you prefer to be billed, please check here
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. ***

**Please FAX the completed order to: (775) 327-5306 or MAIL to: National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Permanency Planning for
Children Department, P.O. Box 8970, Reno, NV 89507 Telephone: (775)
327-5300**

**N**ational **C**learinghouse on **C**hild **A**buse and **N**eglect
**I**nformation

An Information Resource for Professionals

\(800\) FYI-3366 (Continental US)

\(703\) 385-7565 (Washington, DC, Area)

nccanch@calib.com  http://www.calib.com/nccanch

330 C Street, SW  Washington, DC  20447

The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information is
your resource for information on child maltreatment.

**T**he National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information is
your key to the nation\'s largest collection of child
maltreatment-related materials. The Clearinghouse provides practitioners
with information about effective practices and programs to help you to
identify, treat, and prevent child abuse and neglect. Researchers can
obtain information about the latest findings of state-of-the-art studies
and their implications.

**A**s a service of the Children\'s Bureau, the Clearinghouse works to
facilitate collaboration and coordination among programs throughout the
country. By disseminating information to national organizations and
professional networks, the Clearinghouse also works to increase public
awareness of child maltreatment. Most of all, the Clearinghouse can help
you find information on child abuse and neglect to meet your specific
needs.

**T**he Clearinghouse offers a variety of services and products designed
to help you in your professional work. These include:

-   User Manuals

-   Annotated Bibliographies

-   Reports

-   Fact Sheets

Resource Listings

-   Research Reviews

-   Custom Database Searches

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-   State Statutes Summaries

> Online child maltreatment information is at your fingertips. Visit the
> Clearinghouse Home Page at
> <http://www.calib.com/nccanch>**[.]{.underline}**

The Clearinghouse is a service of the Children's Bureau, Administration
on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and
Families,

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

**Children\'s Justice Act Fact Sheet**

**The Children\'s Justice Act (CJA) provides grants to States to improve
the investigation and prosecution of cases of child abuse and neglect,
particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation, and the handling of
child fatality cases in which child abuse or neglect is suspected. It
also directs that such cases be handled in a manner that limits
additional trauma to the child victim.**

**In fiscal year 1999, \$8,500,000 in CJA funds was distributed to 47
States and four insular areas. Funding comes from the Crime Victim\'s
Fund, which collects fines and fees charged to persons convicted of
Federal crimes. The Fund is administered by the Department of Justice
and the grants are awarded by the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect
(OCAN) in the Department of Health and Human Services.**

**Typical CJA activities:**

**Developing curricula and conducting training for personnel in law
enforcement and child**

**protective services, as well as health and mental health
professionals, prosecutors and judges.**

**Establishing or enhancing child advocacy centers and other
multidisciplinary programs**

**to serve child victims and their families and minimize the trauma they
experience.**

> **Forming Emergency Response Teams, including prosecution and law
> enforcement staff, at the State level to assist communities facing
> difficult cases.**
>
> **Supporting the enactment of laws to improve the system response,
> including allowing the admission of indirect testimony of children
> into evidence, making the courtroom environment less intimidating to
> children, increasing the penalties for sexual offenses against
> children, requiring mandatory sentencing, shortening the trial process
> and permitting victims to make statements prior to sentencing.**

**To be eligible for CJA funds, States must be eligible for an OCAN
Basic State Grant and must establish and maintain a multidisciplinary
task force on children\'s justice. The task force must be comprised of
representatives from all disciplines involved in handling child abuse
and neglect cases.**

**Every three years the task force must evaluate the State\'s
investigative, administrative and judicial handling of child abuse,
neglect and exploitation cases and child maltreatment-related fatalities
and make recommendations for improvements to the system handling those
cases.**

**The State must adopt policy and training recommendations made by the
task force to implement methods to better handle these cases, reduce
additional trauma to the child victim and his/her family, while insuring
fairness to the accused.**

-   **For more information on the CJA contact the Office on Child Abuse
    and Neglect at 202-205-8788.**

**STATE COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM**

***FACT SHEET***

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-66) established
a new grant program to help State courts improve their handling of
proceedings relating to foster care and adoption. Beginning in FY 1995,
51 States, including the District of Columbia, have received funding
under the Court Improvement Program.

[Authorization]{.underline}

Congress authorized \$5 million in fiscal year 1995 and \$10 million in
fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998 for the State Court Improvement
Program. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89)
reauthorized the program at \$10 million for fiscal years 1999-2001.
First year funding, which principally supports assessments of State
court practices and policies, requires no local match. Subsequent
funding, for implementation of improvements and reform activities,
requires a 25% State match.

[Allotment Formula]{.underline}

Each State court with an approved application was allotted \$75,000 for
FY 1995, and \$85,000 for FYs 1996-2001 plus a share of the remainder of
the total amount appropriated for all State courts according to a
formula based on the number of children in the State. A Program
Instruction announcing funding for fiscal years 1999-2001 was issued by
the Children's Bureau on February 23, 1999.

[Reasons for Grants]{.underline}

Since 1980, the responsibilities and caseloads of many juvenile and
family courts have sharply increased. These increases are partly due to
the judicial oversight functions imposed by P.L. 96-272 requiring
certain court determinations in foster care and adoption proceedings for
children who enter into State care as a result of abuse or neglect.
Additionally, the incidence of drug-affected children and families and
the reporting of child abuse and neglect have both increased steadily in
recent years resulting in higher court caseloads.

[Activities]{.underline}

The State Court Improvement Program provides State courts with the
opportunity to work and collaborate with other interested parties -all
the projects are working intensively with their counterparts in the
child welfare agencies on comprehensive system reform and developing a
joint agenda for change. State courts have the flexibility to design
assessments which identify barriers, highlight practices which are not
fully successful, measure areas they find to be in need of improvement
or added attention, and then implement reforms which address the State
court\'s specific needs. The broad range of reform strategies being
implemented at this time includes proposals for legislative change,
formalized relationships with the child welfare agency, joint
agency-court training, automated docketing and case tracking, linked
agency-court data systems, one judge / one family models, time-specific
docketing, and judicial and legal counsel training and
expertise-development.

**[Program Panelists]{.underline}**

**Honorable Richard FitzGerald, Chief Judge**

Jefferson Family Court, 700 West Jefferson Street, Suite 220,
Louisville, Kentucky 40202-4730; Phone: 502-595-4736; Fax: 502-595-3482.

Judge FitzGerald is a noted lecturer on family preservation, abuse and
neglect, and other child welfare issues, and has served as faculty for
the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the University
of Louisville School of Law, and for the Child Welfare Leadership Center
at the University of North Carolina School of Social Work. He is the
recipient of the National CASA Association Judge of the Year Award as
well as the NCJFCJs Award for Meritorious Services to the Juvenile
Court System. Judge FitzGerald is a Model Court Lead Judge for the
NCJFCJs Victims Act Model Court Project and currently serves as a
member of the Advisory Board of the National Association of Counsel for
Children, the Child Welfare League Committee on Child Protective
Services Standards, and the Board of Trustees and Permanency Planning
for Children Advisory Committee of the NCJFCJ. Prior to assuming the
bench, Judge FitzGerald volunteered with the Christian Appalachian
Project in McKee, Kentucky, and served as a teacher at Hughes-Quinn
Junior High School in East St. Louis, Illinois.

**Honorable Patricia A. Macias, Associate Judge**

65^th^ District Court, Childrens Court , 500 E. San Antonio Street,
Room 1104, El Paso, Texas 79901; Phone: 915-546-2147; Fax: 915-543-3811.

In addition to her work in the 65^th^ Judicial Court, Judge Macias
serves as a faculty member for the National Council of Juvenile and
Family Court Judges, and as a Model Court Lead Judge for the NCJFCJs
Victims Act Model Court Project. Prior to assuming the bench, she was an
attorney for Rodriguez, Lewis & Collins, P.C., of El Paso, served as
Legal Advisor to the County Judge of El Paso County, worked as a
consultant to the Tomas Rivera Center at Trinity University in San
Antonio, Texas, and as a Professional Affiliate at Georgetown
University, Washington, D.C. Judge Macias is a member of the American
Bar Association Task Force on Children, the National Association of
Counsel for Children, and the El Paso Bar Association. She has received
the State Foster Parent Association Judge of the Year Award, the Mexican
American Legal Defense Fund scholarship, and was Woman of the Year of
the El Paso Womens Political Caucus.

**Honorable David E. Grossmann**

Hamilton County Juvenile Court, 800 Broadway, 14^th^ Floor, Cincinnati,
Ohio 45202;

Phone: 513-852-8711; Fax: 513-852-8550.

Judge David Grossmann retired on May 31, 1998 from his position as the
Presiding Administrative Judge of Hamilton County Juvenile Court in
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has been a judge since 1976. He is a Past
President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
and a Past President of the Ohio Association of Juvenile and Family
Court Judges and has led in the drafting of major judicial policy
statements including serving as Chair of the *RESOURCE GUIDELINES:
Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases* development
committee. Judge Grossmann presently chairs a national committee
dedicated to the restructuring of the adoption process, the Expedited
Adoption Project Advisory Committee of the NCJFCJ. He is a frequent
speaker at conferences and seminars devoted to child welfare and
juvenile justice issues. Judge Grossmann serves as a Model Court Lead
Judge for the Victims Act Model Court Project of the NCJFCJ. The
Dependency Department of Hamilton County Juvenile Court is now a model
for courts across the country because of Judge Grossmanns innovations
in handling cases of abused, neglected, and dependent children. In his
home community, Judge Grossmann chairs the board and helped to found
CityCURE, an inner-city mission to the poor.

**Honorable Thomas P. Zampino, Superior Court Judge**

Superior Court of New Jersey, Tenth Floor, Chancery Division, 212
Washington Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102; Phone: 973-693-6706; Fax:
973-693-6721.

Judge Thomas Zampino has served in the Family Division of the Essex
County Superior Court since his appointment on June 27, 1989, and serves
as one of 20 Model Court Lead Judges for the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges Permanency Planning for Children
Departments Model Court initiative. Prior to taking the bench, Judge
Zampino worked as a Judicial Clerk in the Family Division of the
Superior Court, and practiced law from September 1975 to June 1989. He
has served as chairman for the New Jersey Child Support Commission and
for the Family Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.
Judge Zampino is a frequent lecturer for the New Jersey Institute of
Continuing Legal Education and the National Council of Juvenile and
Family Court Judges. Judge Zampino has also published articles in
several law journals.

**Mary Mentaberry, Director**

Permanency Planning for Children Department, National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges, P.O. Box 8970, Reno, Nevada 89507;
Phone: 775-327-5300; Fax: 775-327-5306.

Mary Mentaberry has been a member of the National Council of Juvenile
and Family Court Judges staff since 1969, and was appointed Director of
its Permanency Planning for Children Department in 1996. Since then, she
has expanded and implemented national, regional, and state judicial
training programs to promote permanency for abused and neglected
children. Department activities focus on providing training and
technical assistance to judges, social service personnel, attorneys,
child advocates and other professionals nationwide. The Permanency
Planning for Children Department has produced numerous publications
related to court practice and child abuse and neglect. Significant among
Department initiatives is the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention effort to improve court practice in child abuse and neglect
cases in 20 Model Courts - the Victims Act Model Court Project.

**Shay Bilchik, Administrator**

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice
Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 800 K St. NW, North Entrance,
Washington, DC 20001; Phone: 202-307-5911; Fax: 202-514-6382.

Mr. Bilchik was confirmed by the United States Senate as Administrator
of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in 1994.
Prior to that time, he served as Associate Deputy Attorney General. Mr.
Bilchiks career began in the State of Florida where he worked 17 years
as a prosecutor. He served as a Chief Assistant State Attorney and as
the coordinator of many special programs, including all juvenile
operations as the Police-Juvenile Prosecutor Liason and the
School-Juvenile Prosecutor Liason.

**Joseph Semidei, Associate Commissioner**

Childrens Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services, 330 C St.
SW, Room 2068, Washington, DC 20447;

Phone: 202-205-8709; Fax 202-260-9345

Joseph Semidei became the Associate commissioner of the Childrens
Bureau on December 20, 1999. His career has been built around services
to children and families in the New **York** area. A native of the
Bronx, he was educated in New York City and has served as Professor of
Social work At Fordham University. In 1982, he was named Deputy
Commissioner of the Bureau of Children and Family services in the New
York Department of Social Services. During his tenure there, he
implemented the newly enacted Child Welfare Reform Act and broadened the
service delivery system to include community-based organizations in high
need areas of the state. He also worked with the state legislature to
reform the system of services provided in communities, establishing a
more integrated service delivery network. Following this position, Mr.
Semidei established a new Childrens Bureau for the Department of Mental
Health in New York City, to focus the citys efforts on children with
mental health needs.

**Gloria Cassel Fitzgerald, Deputy Director**

Division of Education and Transition services, Illinois Department of
Children and Family Services

Deputy Director Fitzgerald has dedicated 29 years to providing safety
and permanency for youth in the State of Illinois. She heads a newly
established division, which consolidated three program areas: education,
transitioning youth to adulthood and pregnant and parenting teens, which
is currently servicing 9,210 youth with a permanency goal of
independence.

**Mindy Shannon Phelps, Moderator**

Ms. Phelps has moderated numerous national satellite videoconferences
produced by OJJDP. Her Professional experience includes serving as a
co-anchor of WLEX-TVs evening newscast. WLEX is an NBC affiliate
located in Lexington, Kentucky. Ms. Phelps has served as Press Secretary
for the Governors Office in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and currently
acts as the statewide coordinator of Habitat for Humanity.

**Previous Satellite Videoconferences**

**Produced by the**

#### Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

***Conditions of Confinement in Juvenile Corrections and Detention
Facilities***

September 1993

***Community Collaboration***

June 1995

***Effective Programs for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile
Offenders***

October 1995

***Youth-Oriented Community Policing***

December 1995

***Juvenile Boot Camps***

February 1996

***Conflict Resolution for Youth***

May 1996

***Reducing Youth Gun Violence***

August 1996

***Youth Out of the Education Mainstream***

October 1996

***Has the Juvenile Court Outlived Its Usefulness?***

December 1996

***Youth Gangs in America***

March 1997

***Preventing Drug Abuse Among Youth***

June 1997

***Mentoring for Youth in Schools and Communities***

September 1997

***Juvenile Offenders and Drug Treatment:***

***Promising Approaches***

December 1997

***Comprehensive Juvenile Justice in State Legislatures***

February 1998

***Protecting Children Online***

March 1998

***Youth Courts: A National Movement***

May 1998

***Risk Factors and Successful Interventions for***

***Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders***

September 1998

***White House Conference on School Safety:***

***Causes and Prevention of Youth Violence***

October 1998

######## **Juveniles and the Criminal Justice System**

December 1998

***Females and the Juvenile Justice System***

May 1999

***Promising Practices for Safe and Effective Schools***

September 1999

######## Online Safety for Children: A Primer for Parents and Teachers

*November 1999*

**[For Further Information]{.underline}**

For videos of previous OJJDP videoconferences, please contact the
Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, PO Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000;
call 800-638-8736; fax 301-251-5212; or e-mail askncjrs@ncjrs.org.

For information on future OJJDP programs, contact Jenny McWilliams,
Juvenile Justice Telecommunications Assistance Project, Eastern Kentucky
University, 301 Perkins Building, 521 Lancaster Avenue, Richmond, KY
40475-3102; call 606-622-6671; fax 606-622-4397; or e-mail
[ekujjtap@aol.com](mailto:beckytrc@iclub.org)