NCJ Number
120235
Date Published
1989
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This paper focuses on how judicial leadership could improve the court system in civil child maltreatment cases.
Abstract
The juvenile court reform movement, which began in 1899, was primarily interested in the judicial handling of delinquency cases. Even over the past two decades, policy reform materials have focused almost entirely on these issues. Two other issues faced by the early juvenile courts are still relevant: how is the abused or neglected child to be treated by the court, and what standards should guide the court in removing a child or returning home a child who had previously been removed. Since the 1960s, several sets of national standards for judicial process reform have been formulated, including two volumes developed by the American Bar Association (ABA). The Standards Related to Court Organization and Administration, formally approved by the ABA, set guidelines for judges who hear family cases as well as a set of timelines for case processing by the court. Standards Related to Abuse and Neglect were considered more controversial and were never presented to the ABA for approval. Nevertheless, this volume has had a significant impact on State legislative reform in the 1980s. The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges also issues standards for court reform. Additional recommendations for judicial process reforms focus on several areas: grounds for civil child protective court interventions, emergency removal procedures, and the court's intake process; court use of diagnostic evaluation and consultation services; pre-trial resolution and the use of mediation; court-appointed legal representation; child protective hearings and the appeal process; and court involvement in service delivery, case review, and post-dispositional proceedings. 20 footnotes.