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National Resource Center for Legal & Judicial Issues

National Resource Center for Legal & Judicial Issues. Member of the TA Network & Service of the Children’s Bureau. Webinar July 8, 2010. Partner Organizations. ABA Center on Children and the Law The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ)

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National Resource Center for Legal & Judicial Issues

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  1. National Resource Center for Legal & Judicial Issues Member of the TA Network & Service of the Children’s Bureau Webinar July 8, 2010

  2. Partner Organizations ABA Center on Children and the Law The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) • Brief History of NRCLJI • Current NRCLJI formalizes and institutionalizes the “The National Court and Child Welfare Collaborative: Focus on System Reform”

  3. Purpose The National Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues (NRCLJI) is dedicated to achieving safety, permanence and well-being for abused and neglected children through improved laws, judicial decision-making, legal representation, and improved relationships among courts, agencies, and other partners. The Resource Center provides consultation, training, and technical assistance on all legal and judicial aspects of the child welfare system, including federal law, court improvement, agency and court collaboration, permanency planning, legal representation, and other emerging child welfare issues.

  4. Staff and ConsultantsAmerican Bar Association Consultants Hon. Joanne Brown (ret.) Diane Boyd Rauber Margaret Burt Craig Dorsay Hon. Steven Rideout (ret.) Hon. Bill Jones (ret.) Timothy Travis Staff Jennifer Renne Scott Trowbridge Shante Bullock Mimi Laver Kathleen McNaught Andrea Khoury Kristin Kelly Sally Inada Pat Owen

  5. Staff and Consultants National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges StaffConsultants Nancy Miller Hon. Stephen Rubin Elizabeth Whitney Barnes Hon. Dale Koch Melissa Bahmer Shirley Dobbin Julianna Ormsby Sophie Gatowski Gina Jackson Candice Maze Jackie Gravois

  6. Staff and Consultants National Center for State Courts StaffConsultant Victor Eugene Flango Aaron Gorrell Fred Cheesman Nora Sydow Brenda Uekert

  7. Outreach • Understanding our “target audience” • Judges, lawyers (parent, child, agency) • What makes working with the legal community distinct • Court Improvement Projects Methods of Dissemination • General strategies for disseminating to stakeholder groups • Nationwide email distribution lists / Listserv groups • Web Seminars or “Webinars” • Books, monographs, brochures, journal articles, & issue bulletins • CIP Community of Practice • ABA Child Court Works (CCW) • ABA Child Law Practice (CLP) • NCJFCJ’s Today Magazine and the Juvenile and Family Court Journal

  8. Training and Technical Assistance • Multiple Modalities for T/TA Delivery • Collaboration with TA Network and other partners • Integrating systems change / implementation science principles Some Examples: Child and Family Service Reviews, focusing on role of the legal community (why and how) Improving legal representation, specific to parent, child and agency representation CIP strategic planning -- drafting and implementation Strategic planning for courts Use of information technology in the court Improving court procedure and practice Collaboration among agencies, courts, and other key stakeholders Judicial Decision-making (Safety, CCC, subject matter checklists) Youth Involvement

  9. How Our TA Works – Focus on Systems Change / Court Reform • Help states track down and pinpoint the underlying causes of legal system problems. • Provide menus of alternative approaches. • Identify barriers and strategies with each approach. • Helping develop specific action strategies There are no uniform blueprints that apply to all courts • Each court system needs careful diagnosis of problems and solutions to fit local conditions. • NRCLJI identifies approaches that have worked in other states, and works with the state to identify an approach that will work there. • Provides services to implement the approach, including consultation and training. • Recent example – Phase 1: conducted court observations, focus groups, interviews, presented recommendations

  10. Collaboration with other TA Network Partners NRC for Organizational Improvement • strategic planning and quality assurance for courts and lawyers • integrate CIP goals with PIP goals • involve legal stakeholders in all CFSR phases NRC for Child Welfare Data and Technology • data exchange • using judicial data to measure PIP goal attainment and agency efforts to provide localized performance data to courts NRC for Permanency and Family Connections • concurrent planning • case plans • parent/foster parent participation / family engagement • permanency options, permanency for older youth (APPLA) NRC for Child Protective Services • Child Safety: A Guide for Judges and Attorneys • CAPTA implementation • citizen review panel and children’s justice act issues

  11. NRC for Youth Services • permanency planning for adolescents • youth in court • LGBTQ youth NRC for Adoption • achieving timely adoptions • improving adoption assistance agreements NRC for the Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids • interstate placement legal barriers • help prospective adoptive families understand legal issues in adoption, especially for older youth NRC for Tribes • TA for tribes seeking to become direct IV-E recipients • ICWA training for state courts • model court orders for tribal courts NRC for In Home Services • role of the court for in-home cases

  12. NRCLJI Goals and Objectives 1. Assist states with legal issues around Child & Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) & Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) 2. Strengthen States’ Court Improvement Programs & Assist with Fundamental CIP Goals The overall goal of RCLJI is to improve child safety, permanency, and well-being through improved laws, policies, and legal and judicial practice. Judges and lawyers are key partners in achieving this goal To reach this goal, RCLJI will:

  13. Goals (cont.) 3. Improve Implementation of Federal & Interjurisdictional Laws 4. Improve Legal Representation for Agencies, Children, & Parents 5. Enhance Participation of Children, Parents, & Relatives in court/agency processes

  14. Goals(cont.) 6. Promote Court Performance through Technology & Automation 7. Enhance Child Well-Being Education Health

  15. (Example of activities under one of our goals)GOAL 2: Strengthen States’ Court Improvement Programs & Assist with CIP Goals Activities: Help CIPs implement strategic plans (& reassessments/ evaluation) Integrate CIP goals with PIP strategies and goals. Develop and implement curricula & training tools / benchcards for judges and court administrators. Implement data exchange standards. Develop cutting edge training evaluation tools for CIPs. Outreach to leadership organizations. Focus on court improvements that have the greatest and most lasting impact, including timeliness, notice, representation, treatment of parties, information systems and technology, judicial resources, and education. Help state courts develop and implement performance measurement. Enhance judicial recruitment and retention. Improve judicial procedures, rules, and forms. Coordinate and facilitate grantees meetings (annual CIP Meeting). Continually update our national CIP Progress Report and online CIP Catalog.

  16. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges(NCJFCJ) Implementation Focus Activities: Courts Catalyzing Change: Achieving Equity and Fairness in Foster Care - a national agenda to reduce disproportionality and disparate treatment http://www.ncjfcj.org/content/blogcategory/447/580/ Judicial Leadership Curriculum: Building judicially-led collaborative teams to effect system change Training evaluation tools: Satisfaction, knowledge acquisition, behavior change, effect on outcomes

  17. Performance Measurement Courts and CW agencies have the data necessary to create performance measures necessary to monitor progress toward achieving timely permanency Performance Measures are necessary to monitor achievement of shared goals—better outcomes for children Outcome measures are a good indicator of success because they force an objective appraisal: did we make a difference? National Center for State Courts(NCSC)

  18. Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases (a five-volume “Toolkit”) http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/publications/courttoolkit.html • 30 dependency court performance measures, compatible with CFSR measures, address four basic child welfare goals: Safety, Permanency, Due Process, Timeliness • Use of “Toolkit” Measures: Baseline 2010 • Measures most used statewide are: • Percentage in foster care who reach legal permanency • Time from filing to legal permanency • Time from filing to adjudication • Time from filing to TPR Need for Data Exchange

  19. EvaluationNational Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ)

  20. Example of information from CIP website Timeliness of Decisions • Adherence to statutory timelines • Continuances (WA,OR,WV- no cont w/o comp reason) • Caseflow Management i.e. mandatory pretrial conferences (CT,ME,GA,IN,RI,MA,NC) • Measuring judicial compliance (UT,MI) • Appellate process • Automation (CO,MD,OR,AR) • Cooperative delay reduction • Allocation of judicial positions among courts

  21. Website pages on specific topics include -AgenciesResources for child welfare agencies. -Child and Family Services ReviewsFederal Child and Family Services Reviews.-Court ImprovementResources related to improving court processes in child welfare.-EducationEducational issues for children in child welfare cases. -Interstate PlacementsThe ICPC and other interstate laws.-Kinship CareRelative placements in child welfare cases.-Legal RepresentationRepresentation of parties in child welfare cases.-LegislationMajor child welfare legislation.-TechnologyUse of technology in child welfare.

  22. Other ABA Center on Children and the Law Projects ABA Permanency Barriers Project Adolescent Health (PIPPAH) Bar-Youth/Aging Out of Foster Care Commission on Youth at Risk Disaster Planning Child Welfare Law Issues Fathers in the Child Welfare System Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center Health of Infants, Toddlers & Preschoolers Juvenile Status Offense Projects Legal Center for Foster Care & Education Opening Doors/LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care Parent Representation

  23. Other NCJFCJ Projects • Victim’s Act Model Courts • Courts Catalyzing Change • Child Abuse and Neglect Institute • Judicial Institutes on Domestic Violence • Tribal Leadership Group • Dependency Court Judicial Workload Evaluation • Court Process Evaluation and Strategic Planning • Customized CIP Projects

  24. For more information: www.abanet.org/child/rclji Jennifer Renne, Director rennej@staff.abanet.org 202-662-1731 NRC on Legal and Judicial Issues American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law 740 15th St. NW Washington, D.C. 20005

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