by Eva J. Klain, Director, Court Improvement. For more information, contact Eva at (202) 662-1681 or klaine@staff.abanet.org.

Juvenile dependency courts face expanding caseloads, shrinking resources, more complex legal issues and tighter deadlines for holding hearings to move abused and neglected children into safe and permanent homes. The federally-funded court improvement program provides a unique opportunity for courts to take a close look at how well they are addressing these problematic issues and make systemic changes that will benefit thousands of children.

The court improvement program is designed to evaluate the successes and shortcomings of state dependency courts. The grants, awarded to the highest court in each state, enable the states to develop and implement comprehensive plans for court reform. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico participate in the program, which first required them to assess their court systems' handling of child abuse and neglect cases and then recommend systemic improvements. Once a state completed its assessment and recommendations, it developed and began to implement a plan for improvement. The states are well into the implementation phase of the court improvement program.

Court Improvement Findings and Recommendations

In analyzing the results of their court assessments, court improvement projects across the country recommended reforms that are both realistic and systemic. Many reports explored how factors such as reasonable caseloads for judges and attorneys, quality of attorney representation and court calendaring of cases influence the ability of courts to make timely decisions relevant to permanency planning. They have identified promising, innovative approaches to expediting the permanency planning process. For instance, Georgia's advisory committee developed and distributed standards of practice for judges, attorneys and court personnel working on juvenile cases, while New Mexico developed a model contract addressing the appointment and compensation of guardians ad litem. Arkansas also overhauled its guardian ad litem appointment and compensation system. Several states such as Maryland have updated or developed new court information systems to better track their abuse and neglect cases.

Implementation Strategies

Based on their court assessment findings, the states developed court improvement plans, which they are now implementing through strategies such as:

• legislation and rule changes,
  
• improved data collection and technology,
  
• mediation and diversion,
  
• regular and mandatory training,
  
• guidelines, manuals and bench books, and
  
• pilot or model projects.

As an example, many states focused their efforts on passing critical legislation after passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), Pub. L. No. 105-89. Most states needed to amend their statutes to comply with the Act and its accompanying regulations. ASFA sets high goals for dependency courts by shortening deadlines for permanency hearings and imposing new case plan and review requirements, among other provisions. For instance, states are now required to provide preadoptive parents and other caregivers with notice and an opportunity to be heard in all reviews and permanency hearings.

Legislative efforts supplement and enhance other court improvement reforms, and state juvenile courts will have the opportunity to continue their reforms through federal fiscal year 2006 as a result of the program's extension in the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-133.

Areas of Reform

Some of the major issues addressed by the state court improvement projects include:

Timeliness of hearings. Court improvement projects studied the timeliness of the decision-making process even before ASFA required permanency planning hearings to be held 12 rather than 18 months after a child is placed into foster care. As a result, many states streamlined their permanency planning deadlines through court improvement initiatives. Colorado established an expedited permanency hearing process for children under six years of age, and Oregon takes a child's sense of time into account when determining whether termination of parental rights is appropriate. Furthermore, many states now give dependency appeals priority or expedite such appeals.

Quality and depth of hearings.Many states are exploring whether they comply with judicial practice guidelines developed by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases, 1995). For instance, through both legislation and court rules, Illinois has extended its shelter care hearings to one hour to comply with the standards set forth in the Guidelines, which specify the issues that should be covered during each type of hearing.

Many states have also adopted one-family-one-judge policies to enhance case continuity and consistency. Texas has created "cluster courts" to improve practices in rural areas of the state. The cluster courts handle child welfare cases exclusively and use a traveling judge who hears all the cases within a cluster of counties.

Quality of legal representation. Essential to a high functioning court process, the quality of legal representation is the focus of many states' implementation efforts. To advocate effectively, attorneys for the child, parents and child welfare agency must possess sufficient experience and skills to investigate the circumstances of the case and prepare adequately for court. They must have a basic understanding of child development to communicate effectively with their clients, and they must know which questions to ask in gathering evidence to support their cases.

Many recommendations promote improved training and increased qualifications of attorneys. Training should be regular and mandatory and should stress curricula over one-time programs. Substantive topics should include developments in law as well as advocacy skills, and lawyers should acquire a basic understanding of children's linguistic and developmental capabilities.

Some projects recommend legislation to clarify the duties of counsel for children, parents and agencies. Setting attorney guidelines or standards of representation, such as maintaining regular contact with the child client, is one fundamental step toward achieving competent representation. Several states also advocate expansion of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs and increased funding to enable more children to receive the benefits of CASAs, who often only handle a few cases at once and may have more time to devote to a child's progress.

Judicial training and education. Success of the court process is often dependent on judges and judicial officers who are educated on child welfare issues, have previous experience in the field prior to coming to the bench and have exhibited leadership and commitment to improving the lives of children and families. The level of education and training for juvenile court practitioners is a primary focus of many court improvement efforts. Most, if not all, recommend some increased level of regular, long-term training for new judges, attorneys, case workers and CASA volunteers to educate them about child welfare law, basic principles of child development and the court process itself.

Treatment of parties and witnesses. An additional benefit of improved court proceedings relates directly to the children and families the courts are intended to serve. The court's increased ability to communicate effectively with children, family members and others conveys the message that abuse and neglect cases are to be taken seriously and children and families are to be treated with dignity.

Respectful procedures, such as calling parties by name or not making a family wait for hours before their case is heard, reflect a commitment to a child-centered process. Child-friendly waiting areas with books and toys to play with can also have a significant impact on a child's court experience. The Nevada Family Visiting Project provides age-appropriate toys and recreational opportunities to children visiting with their families. Some states have developed materials, including booklets and videotapes, to explain the court process to parents, older children, and foster and adoptive parents. New Mexico has developed a handbook for parents that describes the court process, while New Jersey's handbook focuses on termination of parental rights proceedings.

Multidisciplinary approaches.Development of multidisciplinary approaches that emphasize collaboration among the court, agency and community to address the complex needs of children and their families is important. Working under the premise that no single entity can solve all the child welfare system's problems alone, West Virginia mandated multidisciplinary teams for each county based on a state-wide model protocol. The team must meet regarding a child's case within 30 days and must be present for all judicial reviews. West Virginia's philosophy is based on a "comprehensive state-wide approach that emphasizes multidisciplinary, community-based solutions founded in strong judicial leadership and case management, with clear objectives for families and aggressive advocacy for children."

Successes and Future Potential of Court Improvement Efforts

One of the most valuable outcomes of the court improvement program is the ability for states to share information and replicate the successful reforms and innovative strategies implemented in other states. While court improvement ultimately will reduce children's length of stay in foster care, it requires commitment from practitioners and the community. The strength of the projects and their resulting reforms depends on the individuals involved in the process.

How to Contribute to Court Improvement Efforts

To succeed in truly reforming the juvenile court system, court improvement projects should draw support from those with a vested interest in the success of the court process. To become involved, you can:

• Contact the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) in your state to find out the status of the court improvement project and offer assistance. In most states, the AOC administers the grant and can provide the most up-to-date information about project activities
• Determine the composition of the court improvement advisory committee and contact a member to share your concerns. The advisory committees are multidisciplinary and should reflect the spectrum of participants in the court process. Because successful court improvement depends on broad-based community involvement, the project may welcome your participation on task forces, work groups or subcommittees.
• Identify the top priorities facing the court system, what changes are most important to you and what recommendations or reforms the state is pursuing in those specific areas.
• Lobby the legislature or judiciary to ensure reforms happen. Advocate for the recommendations for reform offered by the court improvement project, and provide formal support for legislative initiatives.
• Mobilize the support of other advocacy and citizen-based organizations, including citizen review boards, CASA programs or teachers' associations.
• Be creative in motivating courts and agencies to improve their efforts on behalf of children.

The court improvement grants provide states the opportunity to focus closely on this often neglected area of court functioning and raise the visibility of children's issues at the highest levels of state court systems. The challenges facing juvenile dependency courts-such as efficient case management, reasonable caseloads and quality legal representation-need immediate and specific reforms to enable courts to achieve permanency for children placed in foster care and adoption for those children who cannot safely return home. The court improvement grants make reform possible by focusing efforts and resources on moving children through the court process to legal, permanent placements more quickly.