Miami Model Court Family Decision-Making Conference Program: Evaluation Results

• NCJ Number: 192705
• Author(s): Sophia I. Gatowski Ph.D.; Shirley A. Dobbin Ph.D.; Melissa Litchfield
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 94 pages
• Grant Number(s): 96-CT-NX-0001
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
• Sale Source: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Technical Assistance Bulletin, N 3, V 5, November 2001.

Annotation

This report presents the evaluation methodology and findings for the Miami Model Court Family Decision-Making Conference Program, which are family-focused interventions designed to build and strengthen the natural care-giving system for the child.

Abstract

Under this model, family members and support persons identified by the family, as well as child welfare system case workers or counselors and other service providers, meet together to discuss the case and reach agreement on a plan for the care and safety of the child. Family decision-making conferencing was first introduced in the Miami-Dade Juvenile Court July 24, 1998. Currently, this innovative practice has become a major reform initiative of the Miami Model Court project. In the fall of 1999, the family decision-making conference program was evaluated by an outside independent agency. The evaluation collected data on a sample of 87 family conferences, including 157 exit surveys of conference participants, held between 1999 and 2000. The analysis focused on the operation and goals of the program, the various perspectives of participants regarding the dynamics of the decision-making conferences, and important factors that affected those dynamics. The impact of the conferences on case processing was also analyzed. The evaluation found that although the conferences were successful at mobilizing family members as resources, almost half of the participants indicated that someone who should have been included in the conference was omitted. Plans developed as a result of conferences were found to be not only early but also appropriate and relatively comprehensive. A number of areas of the pre-conference planning process, however, need improvement (e.g., identification and involvement of family members and the clear articulation of conference purposes and goals). Conference participants reported that conference facilitators were knowledgeable and effective. Further, the program succeeded in empowering parents and family members as decision-makers. Also, the program has improved the relationships between counselors, the court, and families. The general conclusion of the evaluation is that family decision-making conferences have become an accepted and valued tool for empowering families and resolving cases more quickly within the Miami Model Court. 15 tables and appended evaluation instruments