The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), with support from the State Justice Institute (SJI), announces the launch of an all-new Bench Card Resource Center for the judiciary. Visit the Bench Card Resource Center Juvenile and family court judges primarily use bench cards … Read More
Judicial
Enhanced Resource Guidelines – Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) has announced the release of the Enhanced version of the Resource Guidelines to improve court practice in child abuse and neglect cases, 20 years after the original publication. “The Enhanced Resource Guidelines will serve as the … Read More
Supporting School Stability for Children in Foster Care during COVID-19 and Beyond
As a judge overseeing child welfare cases, you play a critical role ensuring children and youth in foster care are staying on track and making progress in school. Federal law prioritizes education stability for these children and mandates coordination by … Read More
Supporting Remote Family Time During the Pandemic and Beyond: The Judge’s Role
This Judge’s Action Alert highlights: trends in use of remote family time by the legal child welfare community during the pandemic; benefits and drawbacks of using remote family time approaches; keys to effective remote family time; how judges can support remote family … Read More
Best Practice Standards: Ensuring ‘Equity and Inclusion’ in Family Treatment Courts
The Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards (BPS) provide local jurisdictions, states, tribes, and funders with clear practice guidance; the goal is to improve outcomes for children, parents, and families affected by SUDs and involved in child welfare. While all … Read More
Judge’s Action Alert: Supporting Early Legal Advocacy Before Court Involvement in Child Welfare Cases
This Judge’s Action Alert highlights: the reasons for providing legal advocacy early in a child welfare case before court involvement, roles legal advocates play when appointed before court involvement in a case, benefits of early, precourt legal advocacy, how early, precourt legal … Read More
Seeing What’s Underneath: A Resource for Understanding Behavior and Using Language in Juvenile Court
Juvenile court can be a stressful environment— for everyone. But for court-involved youth, it can also be embarrassing, confusing, and traumatic. Youth may fail to meet adults’ expectations to be respectful and compliant or to show empathy and remorse. Youth … Read More
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Courts: A Tool for Improving Outcomes for American Indian Children and Families
The St. Louis County Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Court in Duluth, Minnesota, currently led by Judge Sally Tarnowski, is a dedicated docket of child welfare hearings involving Indian children as confirmed or presumed by the definitions outlined in the … Read More
Getting Down to Basics: Tools to Support LGBTQ Youth in Care
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people are in America’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems in disproportionate numbers. Like all young people in care, they have the right to be safe and protected. All too often, however, … Read More
Utilizing Title IV-E Funds to Support High Quality Legal Representation for Children & Youth Who are in Foster Care
ACYF-CB-IM-21-06 Issued: January 14, 2021 from Children’s Bureau Memorandum from the Administration for Children and Families. The purpose of this information memorandum (IM) is to urge all state and tribal title IV-E agencies, courts, administrative offices of the courts, and … Read More