NCJ Number
214963
Date Published
2006
Length
55 pages
Annotation
This report on the National Judicial Leadership Summit on the Protection of Children--which was held in Minneapolis, MN, in September 2005--presents the strategies and action plans developed at the Summit in order to reform child protection systems to better serve the needs of abused and neglected children.
Abstract
One strategy proposed by Summit participants (judges, child protection workers, court administrators, child advocates, and attorneys) is to establish structures of accountability for courts and agencies to ensure permanent placement, safety, and well-being for child clients through enhanced performance measurement systems. Two action steps focus on the kind of performance measurement system needed and how to develop it. A second strategy proposed by Summit participants is to foster collaboration among courts and executive-branch agencies to ensure better outcomes for children who are in the child protection network. One action step under this strategy is to review existing multidisciplinary committees and take steps to strengthen organizational ties at all levels of the child protection system. The second action step in this strategy is to strengthen working relationships among courts, child protection agencies, and legal agencies at all levels of the child protection system. The third strategy is to provide judicial leadership in championing the needs of children in child-protection status and to achieve changes that improve outcomes for children. The two action steps are to create model juvenile child protection courts and model child protection systems that include all principal stakeholders. The fourth strategy for reform is to provide an effective voice in courts for children and parents through representation by trained attorneys and advocates. Action plans are to increase the availability of trained representatives in dependency proceedings and establish standards and requirements for effective representation in such proceedings. Appended Summit agenda, planning committee, State teams and contact persons, resolutions of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators, pre-Summit assessment survey, and analysis of pre-Summit assessment