NCJ Number
157242
Date Published
1995
Length
87 pages
Annotation
This report of Oregon's Children's Justice Act (CJA) Task Force includes legislative and policy recommendation designed to improve the State's response to child abuse.
Abstract
In 1988 the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect began funding the administration of a CJA Program in selected States throughout the Nation; Oregon was one of the States that qualified for the initial funding by establishing and maintaining a multidisciplinary task force to study issues that relate to child abuse. The CJA Task Force reports biennially to the Oregon State Legislature regarding the problems and progress in responding to child maltreatment. The specific mission of the CJA Task Force is to review, evaluate, and make recommendations to improve the investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of child abuse cases. In 1995 the Task Force has monitored the implementation and results of newly enacted legislation intended to reduce the incidents of child maltreatment and improve the investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of child abuse cases. Other 1995 objectives are to improve the speed and outcomes of court and agency administrative actions that affect maltreated children, address ways in which the performance of court child advocates can be improved, change protocols that affect actual practice, and act in an advisory capacity to the Children's Services Division in the distribution of funds from the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Account. Priority recommendations for 1995 are in the areas of training for mandated reporters, sharing and collecting information, reviewing the judicial system, Regional Assessment and Advocacy Centers, the Domestic Violence and Child Protective Services Project, and response to child fatalities.