In 2019, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) received funding support from the State Justice Institute (SJI) to work with juvenile and family courts across the country to address the effects…
The St. Louis County Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Court in Duluth, Minnesota, currently led by Judge Sally Tarnowski, is a dedicated docket of child welfare hearings involving Indian children as confirmed or presumed by…
This Judge’s Action Alert highlights: trends in use of remote family time by the legal child welfare community during the pandemic; benefits and drawbacks of using remote family time approaches; keys to effective remote family time; how…
This Judge’s Action Alert highlights: Why prioritizing education is important for children in foster care Critical education issues for children in foster care Who is involved in advocating for the education of children in foster care …
Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in 1978 to address the widespread practice of state entities removing American Indian and Alaskan Native children from their homes and families. Congress found “an alarmingly high…
This Judge’s Action Alert highlights: the reasons for providing legal advocacy early in a child welfare case before court involvement, roles legal advocates play when appointed before court involvement in a case, benefits of early, precourt…
Through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funding, the Implementation Sites Project was developed to replicate the infrastructure pioneered by the National Council of Juvenile and Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Model Courts Project.…
Juvenile and family court judges are leaders and conveners in their communities. Judges need information (data) to accomplish varied activities in their roles – from making individual-level decisions about evidence-based services to convening stakeholder groups…
Juvenile dependency mediation is an evidence-based, best practice that focuses on the child’s best interest. It is a collaborative, non-adversarial conversation facilitated by specially trained neutral mediators in a secure, comfortable, and safe setting. This…
Facing a child protection investigation is scary for any parent and even more for domestic violence survivors. A parent who uses violence against the other parent, not surprisingly, is often found to use violence against…
Juvenile and family court professionals should work to positively impact the children and families involved in the justice system. Engaging people who have past involvement in the juvenile and family justice system can positively impact…
This Child Welfare Caseworkers’ Companion Guide to the NCJFCJ’s ENHANCED RESOURCE GUIDELINES has been developed with the goal of improving caseworker hearing practice in child abuse and neglect cases generally, but also with a focus on improving…