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…
Mediation is a recommended form of alternate dispute resolution that is becoming increasingly popular in the juvenile dependency court system, as it allows parties to settle contested matters in a non-adversarial way that provides all…
Research has conclusively demonstrated that court-involved children and adolescents present with extremely high rates of traumatic stress caused by their adverse life experiences. In the court setting, we may perceive these youth as inherently disrespectful,…
NCJFCJ considers the appointment of early legal representation for indigent parents as a “best practice” in juvenile dependency proceedings. This Research Memo uses data from a parent representation pilot program in the Travis County, Texas…
In Texas, youth who remain in care for more than a year enter Permanent Managing Conservatorship, and a permanency review hearing is held at least every six months that they remain in care. These hearings…
In the dependency court system, a legal orphan is a child whose parents’ rights have been terminated and who has no legal permanent connection to a family. The child remains in foster care and has…
Synergy, Vol. 16, No. 2, is dedicated to the child protection and custody challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender (LGBQT) survivors of domestic violence and by the LGBQT community. This issue was…
Judging in juvenile court is specialized and complex, going beyond the traditional role of the judge. Juvenile court judges, as the gatekeepers to the foster care system and guardians of the original problem solving court,…