NCJ Number
188288
Date Published
1998
Length
177 pages
Annotation
This study examined all State laws pertaining to the processing of child abuse and neglect cases, with emphasis on how closely each State followed the time frames specified in their laws and on the perceptions of court improvement specialists regarding each State’s overall system for processing child abuse and neglect cases.
Abstract
The research covered laws in effect as of June 30, 1997, and aimed to provide a baseline for further analyses. Study information came from the laws, a mailed questionnaire asking specific questions about the State laws, and lengthy telephone interviews to elicit information on actual practice in a variety of areas related to case processing in each State. The analysis focused on time lines and issues related to the filing of the petition, the emergency hearing, pre-adjudicatory conferences, the adjudicatory hearing, reports and plans, the disposition hearing, court and agency reviews, and permanency reviews and deadlines. Results revealed that States used different triggering events to set time lines for mandated procedures and that the time lines for the adjudicatory hearing, as measured from the time the child was removed from parental custody, varied considerably from State to State. Each State had specific laws governing appeals, although some States had laws that applied specifically in child abuse and neglect cases. Figures and appended charts displaying each State’s laws and procedures