9/9/05 — NCJFCJ Continues Focus on Issues Impacting Children and Families

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, children and families will be facing countless obstacles beyond those that originally brought them into the juvenile and family court system. As the courts and related agencies in the affected states begin to rebuild and are able to focus on the needs of these families, it will be critical that judges and others have the latest tools and resources available to make the best possible decisions.

Helping these judges and other court professionals improve the effectiveness of the juvenile and family courts during this time of crisis, as well as every day, is the focus of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), based on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. NCJFCJ assists judges, courts and juvenile and family agencies in continuing education, research, publications, and policy development on the myriad issues affecting children and families.

NCJFCJ will share additional information about these and ongoing efforts to improve outcomes for children and families involved in the court systems at an Open House on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Every day, juvenile and family court judges around the country are faced with difficult issues, including child abuse and neglect, family violence, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, child custody and visitation, and minority issues. The statistics are startling:

• More than 530,000 children were in out-of-home care in the United States at the end of 2002. In Nevada, 1,789 children were in foster care in 2001.
• Nationally, juvenile courts handled more than four times as many delinquency cases in 1999 than in 1960. In 2002, nearly 5,000 arrests were made of Washoe County’s juveniles for offenses ranging from running away from home to murder.
• In 2001, more than 691,000 people nationally were victims of domestic violence, 85% of them female. In Nevada, there were more than 40,000 domestic violence victims in 2001, 8,092 in Washoe County alone.  

NCJFCJ Executive Director Mary V. Mentaberry, a longtime advocate of children and family issues and a 33-year veteran of the organization, says regarding Katrina’s impact, “Many of our members in the affected states have not yet been in contact with us. NCJFCJ is standing by to assist in any way possible to help these judges and professionals continue the important work that Katrina has interrupted.”

NCJFCJ will be serving as a clearinghouse of resources for judges and other professionals, which so far have included offers of housing and mental health services and news of supplies that are on their way to help in the relief effort. NCJFCJ has also been contacted by other national organizations in an effort to join forces in providing resources that may be necessary for the juvenile and family court system in the states directly affected by Hurricane Katrina and those states that will now be providing services to thousands of evacuees. 

NCJFCJ will share additional information about these and ongoing efforts to improve outcomes for children and families involved in the court systems at an Open House on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Some of these projects, both local and national in scope, include:

• Publication in July of the landmark JUVENILE DELINQUENCY GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases, a benchbook of best practices that identifies 16 key principles for juvenile delinquency courts of excellence.
• The NCJFCJ’s 28 “Model Courts,” which are located around the country focused on implementing strategies designed to improve courts’ handling of child abuse and neglect cases. Reno’s Model Court is led by Judge Deborah Schumacher.
• The Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody, which provides resources to enhance the safety and well-being of domestic violence victims and their children.

Interested members of the public and media are welcome to attend at NCJFCJ’s headquarters in the Continuing Education Building, 1041 North Virginia Street on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The NCJFCJ’s President, Judge Stephen M. Rubin from Tucson, Ariz., Mary Mentaberry and staff will provide information on the NCJFCJ’s projects being implemented on a local, state, and national level involving issues that directly impact children and families including child abuse and neglect, family violence, juvenile delinquency and sanctions, substance abuse, adoption and foster care, and family law. Hunter Hurst, Director of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, NCJFCJ’s research center located in Pittsburgh, Pa., will be present to discuss research and data collection underway on juvenile justice issues.

In addition, the organization will recognize the longtime legislative support on a state and national level from U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, U.S. Representative Jim Gibbons, and Nevada Senator William Raggio. City and state officials, judges, University representatives, and professionals from the local and state juvenile justice field will be in attendance. The event coincides with two of NCJFCJ's residential training sessions: Fall College: The Role of the Judge and Judicial Response to Alcohol and Other Drugs, with judges and other juvenile justice professionals in attendance from around the country.

For more information, please contact Jackie Ruffin, Manager of Communications.