Courts Catalyzing Change:  Achieving Equity and Fairness in Foster Care

The Permanency Planning for Children Department is very excited to announce its new initiative to reduce disproportionality and disparity in foster care.  The Courts Catalyzing Change:  Achieving Equity and Fairness in Foster Care initiative will complement the Model Courts Next Generation national goal to achieve the same bold outcomes!  The Courts Catalyzing Change initiative will result in the development of a national agenda and tools to take the next steps in the disproportionality and disparity issue.  Working in concert with Casey Family Programs, and taking up where Casey's cutting-edge Breakthrough Series Collaborative left off, the Courts Catalyzing Change initiative will place judicial leaders at the forefront of this important issue.

We look forward to the development and implementation of this exciting new agenda!  For more information, please contact Nancy Miller, PPCD Director, at (775) 784-7524, or via email at nmiller@ncjfcj.org

New Dental Health Publication!

A child’s dental health can affect everything from their immune system and ability to physically develop normally, to their self-esteem and relationships with peers. When the dental health issues affect an abused and neglected child, the potential risks are even greater. Courts that hear child abuse and neglect cases are in the unique position of being able to work to improve the dental health of abused and neglected children.

Brought to the NCJFCJ through the multidisciplinary efforts of the Mental Health/Medical -Legal Issues Committee created by Miami, Florida Judge William Gladstone, and through the efforts of Miami Judge Cindy Lederman, Chair of the Committee, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and Procter & Gamble teamed up with the Victims Act Model Courts to celebrate Children's Dental Health Month in February 2008.

The Technical Assistance Brief, Children's Dental Health: The Next Frontier in Well-Being , was developed as part of these multidisciplinary efforts.

Click the download button for a pdf of the Brief. For free hard copies please contact caninfo@ncjfcj.org

Two Complimentary Publications on Educational Reform Efforts in a
Dependency Model Court

Court-based Education Efforts for Children in Foster Care: The Experience of the Pima County Juvenile Court (Arizona)  

With support from Casey Family Programs, the Permanency Planning for Children Department has developed a publication entitled: Court-based Education Efforts for Children in Foster Care: The Experience  of the Pima County Juvenile Court (Arizona).  This publication provides an easy to read summary of the lessons learned from implementing reform efforts aimed at improving educational outcomes for children in care in one dependency court system.  The document highlights the collaborative process, programs and policies implemented, obstacles faced and strategies used.  For a copy of this publication, please contact the Training and Technical Assistance Division at caninfo@ncjfcj.org.  For a report that includes more detail about Pima County Model Court's efforts in this area, as well as an appendix of preliminary research findings from a study of their use of a judicial education checklist, please see theTechnical Assistance Brief  described below. 

Please click here for a PDF of this publication.

Technical Assistance Brief: Education Efforts for Children in Foster Care: The Pima County, Arizona Experience

The Permanency Planning for Children Department with funding from Casey Family Programs and additional support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) chronicled the efforts of Pima County, (Tucson) Arizona Model Court in improving educational outcomes for children in care. ThisTechnical Assistance Brief   provides detailed information regarding the various components of the educational reform efforts implemented by the Pima County Juvenile Court (Tucson, Arizona) and offers recommendations to other jurisdictions who want to address the educational issues faced by children in foster care. Comprehensive findings from a preliminary review of Juvenile Court records are provided, with a focus on how educational issues are addressed as part of routine court practice.  Available by Download Only

Please click here for a PDF of theTechnical Assistance Brief.

PRESS RELEASE

NCJFCJ Announces Release of
Child Abuse and Neglect Institute: The Role of the Judge
A Curriculum Guide and Instructor's Manual

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) proudly announces the publication of the Child Abuse and Neglect Institute: The Role of the Judge - A Curriculum Guide and Instructor's Manual.  The Curriculum Guide  adapts the NCJFCJ's successful in-residence training program and materials to provide local and state jurisdictions with a Curriculum  that can be adapted to implement their own dependency court judge trainings or offer materials as a self-directed or online course.  This publication was made possible with the support of a grant from the State Justice Institute (SJI).

Please click here to read the Press Release.

New Safe Start Publications Dealing with Childrens's Exposure to Violence

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judge’s Permanency Planning for Children Department (PPCD), in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Safe Start Demonstration Project, has compiled a Guide to Research and Resources as well as a Checklist to inform strategies and practices that will promote positive outcomes for children and youth exposed to violence.

The publication,Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Guide to Research and Resources  is designed to help judges and practitioners identify and understand the key issues surrounding children’s exposure to domestic violence.

The companion Technical Assistance Brief, A Judicial Checklist for Children and Youth Exposed to Violence,  provides accessible information along with a Checklist for use as a reference tool for judges and practitioners in juvenile and family courts about children’s exposure to violence.

To purchase either of these publications please click here.

For further information about the Safe Start Initiative please see the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website.

After the Storms: A Discussion Forum

In August and September 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused devastating damage to states along the Gulf Coast.  Many judges, court personnel, child welfare workers, and service providers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana responded heroically.  States, most notably Texas, welcomed those families and children displaced from the Gulf Coast.

In partnership with the American Bar Association and the National Center for State Courts, with support from the Department of Health and Human Services, the NCJFCJ is involved in relief projects for jurisdictions affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita such as conducting needs assessments, contacting and networking with NCJFCJ member judges, providing technical assistance, supporting training, strategic planning with judges and court teams, providing topical information on our websites and in publications, and drafting publications and manuals for courts’ disaster planning.

As part of these efforts, the NCJFCJ is sponsoring discussion forums for judges, court staff, attorneys, caseworkers, service providers, and others working with abused and neglected children and their families in jurisdictions affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. If you live or work in a jurisdiction which suffered damage, or if you are in a jurisdiction which is serving evacuees, you are invited to register and join the discussion forum.

To download the discussion forum flyer, please click here.

To join the discussion, please click on the discussion forum banner below.