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RESOURCE GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases |
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 Members of the NCJFCJ have been at work since the early 1970s on continued improvements in state and national child placement policies and practices. This ongoing project is supported, in part, with federal funds authorized through the Victims of Child Abuse Act, Public Law 101-647. One of the first project activities undertaken was the development of a basic primer in the dependency hearing process. The publication is entitled, RESOURCE GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases. The information was developed by a panel of judges, court administrators, and child welfare experts who studied juvenile and family court systems throughout the nation to identify preferred practice in the handling of child abuse and neglect cases. The RESOURCE GUIDELINES set minimum requirements for careful, complete, and fundamentally fair hearings at all stages of court proceedings. This document focuses on the need for comprehensive and timely judicial response in child abuse and neglect cases and encourages courts to understand the child welfare system and what community services are available for at-risk children and their families." |
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ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases |
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 As recently as the 1970s, juvenile and family courts were expected only to determine whether a child had been abused or neglected and, if so, whether the child needed to be removed from home or placed under court or agency supervision. With the implementation of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272), juvenile and family court judges became responsible for ensuring that a safe, permanent, and stable home was secured for each abused or neglected child coming before the court. The law required courts to evaluate the reasonableness of services provided to preserve families, to hold periodic review hearings in foster care cases, to adhere to deadlines, and to comply with procedural safeguards concerning placement and visitation. To help courts and agencies with this new challenge, both the federal government and the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Permanency Planning for Children Department have turned their attention to the issue of adoption. In response to the need for shortened time frames and improved adoption processes the NCJFCJ Permanency Planning for Children Department created the Expedited Adoption Project in 1997. This project brought together practice experts from juvenile and family courts across the country along with attorneys, child welfare experts, and adoption experts to create the ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY GUIDELINES, a sequel to the RESOURCE GUIDELINES. The purpose of the ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY GUIDELINES is to set forth the essential elements of best practice for the court processes that lead to a permanent home for children who cannot be reunified with their families.
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