The U.S. Constitution does not grant parents a right to legal counsel in the juvenile dependency system. However, most states have created statutes that provide parents with legal representation in juvenile dependency cases. Currently, Mississippi…
The National Center for Juvenile Justice, the NCJFCJ’s research division, has released the first in a new series of case-study publications supporting themes explored in the Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice, and Statistics website (JJGPS.org).When…
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has released Preparing for a Trauma Consultation in Your Juvenile and Family Court. This guide, available online, outlines what courts need to know about a trauma…
The Courts Catalyzing Change: Achieving Equity and Fairness in Foster Care Initiative (CCC) brings together judicial officers and systems stakeholders to set a national agenda for court-based training, research and reform initiatives to reduce the…
This brief serves as a summary of a foundational event in the life of the Project ONE initiative—the All- Sites meeting held in Reno, Nev. May 2014. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court…
The Child Abuse and Neglect Institute (CANI) is a week-long training program that provides instruction in dependency court best practices for judicial officers who have been recently assigned to child abuse and neglect cases. Since…
Researchers and professionals in the field have known for years that domestic violence and child maltreatment often co-occur in families. The extent to which this happens is hard to estimate, with early studies indicating overlaps…
King County, Washington implemented a pilot mediation program for its juvenile dependency court in 2009. The purpose of this program was to improve efficience of case processing for families and stakeholders in the dependency system.…
Peer-to-peer models have been demonstrated a successful intervention in a variety of disciplines. The Parent for Parent (P4P) model uses veteran parents to assist families that are just entering the dependency system navigate through it…
The NCJFCJ is committed to helping state courts achieve full ICWA compliance. A new resource is now available to the courts (or Court Improvement Programs) to help achieve this goal. Measuring Compliance with the Indian Child…
This technical assistance bulletin provides guidance for Youth in Court programs in evaluating protocols and processes. It is a companion to the Seen, Heard, and Engaged: Children in Dependency Court Hearings publication released in 2012. For courts…
Meaningful collaboration has been defined as an ongoing process in which “courts and agencies identify and work toward shared goals and activities to increase the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in the child welfare system.” This…