NCJ Number
97057
Date Published
1980
Length
77 pages
Annotation
Intended for use by parents' attorneys involved in juvenile neglect proceedings, this manual suggests means by which legislation and administrative or court rules can help avoid problems which commonly occur at the early stages of intervention in such cases, from the point at which the child is taken into custody through the initial dispositional hearing.
Abstract
In cases involving voluntary placement of children in foster care, needs include the improvement of the voluntary placement agreement and procedures for entering into it, restriction of the circumstances in which voluntary placements may be used, tightened procedures for voluntary judicial placements, and using the 1980 Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act as an arguing point with the legislature or State agency. Emergency custody cases need tightened grounds for summary removal of the child from the home, requiring written explanations in most cases and prompt notice to custodians, as well as more precise grounds for retaining custody of the child at the emergency hearing. The adjudication process needs stricter time limits, mandatory notice to parents, parental representation by experienced attorneys, and tightened legal standards. At the disposition stage, separate dispositional hearings, improved dispositional reports, specification of parental visiting rights in the disposition order, planning for the return of the child to the parents, and strict time limits for dispositional proceedings are required. Footnotes and appendixes presenting statutes and regulations from 10 States, recommended standards, a case-plan grid, and extracts from the 1980 law are supplied.