The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) has selected six new courts to join their Implementation Sites Project, which helps to improve outcomes for abused and neglected children and their families.
The NCJFCJ Implementation Sites Project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, provides child abuse and neglect courts with training, technical assistance, and support to guide program improvement, sustainability, and performance. As part of their involvement in this project, Implementation Sites are expected to implement meaningful change, evaluate progress, as well as share challenges and successes with other courts across the country. The Implementation Sites will integrate promising practices, as defined by the NCJFCJ’s Enhanced Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practices in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases to guide their system reform efforts.
The NCJFCJ will work with the following courts and lead judges by helping to identify strengths and challenges, in addition to strategizing solutions to address those impediments, to improve their current court practices and the delivery of services to families and children. Judicial leadership and effective collaboration are viewed as essential for project success.
- Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Tribal Court in Juneau, Alaska with Judge Debra O’Gara
- Juvenile Court of Douglas County in Douglasville, Ga. with Judge Peggy Walker
- Berrien County Trial Court, Family Division (pictured) in St. Joseph, Mich. with Judge Brian Berger
- 10th Circuit Court, Family Division in Saginaw, Mich. with Judge Barbara Meter
- Court of Common Pleas in Scranton, Penn. with Judge Andy Jarbola
- Thurston County Superior Court in Tumwater, Wash. with Judge Christine Schaller
These six new courts will join the current sites within the project in Montgomery, Ala.; Gila River Indian Community (Ariz.); Little Rock, Ark.; Hot Springs, Ark.; St. Paul, Minn.; Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (Miss.); Tulsa, Okla.; Pittsburg, Penn.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Edinburgh, Texas.