A recurring training offered by the NCJFCJ is the Child Abuse and Neglect Institute (CANI) which provides instruction in dependency court best practices for judicial officers who have either been newly assigned to child abuse and neglect cases or for experienced juvenile dependency judges who would like to learn about emerging and promising practices in this field.During the 2014 training held in Reno, Nev., the NCJFCJ assessed changes in participants’ decision-making before and after CANI. The purpose of evaluating changes in decision-making was to determine if judicial officers make different decisions or think about cases differently after attending the training. Results indicate there are several differences in decision-making post-CANI, including increases in Indian Child Welfare inquiries, more focus on the child’s well-being, and changes in decisions regarding placement and services for parents.
These results support earlier evaluation findings of a regional CANI training held in Atlanta. That report is also available online and can be found here.
Click here to read a two-page summary of findings in the Research Snapshot.
Research Evidence Classification: Promising Direction
The Child Abuse and Neglect Institute (CANI) was recently evaluated in terms of its effects on knowledge acquisition of key topic areas and decision-making in mock child abuse and neglect case. In accordance with the NCJFCJ Policy Statement on Evidence of Effectiveness, CANI has been classified by NCJFCJ research staff as a Promising Direction using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Continuum of Evidence of Effectiveness, specifically as it relates to the outcomes identified above.