NCJ Number
239542
Date Published
2010
Length
56 pages
Annotation
Technical assistance is provided on the features and implementation of the Courts Catalyzing Change's (CCC's) Preliminary Protective Hearing (PPH) Benchcard, which is intended as a judicial tool for ensuring compliance with "best practices" for the PPH, one of the most critical stages in a child abuse and neglect case.
Abstract
In September 2007, Casey Family Programs partnered with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to bring together judicial officers and other child welfare system stakeholders in a series of leadership and work group meetings intended to create a National Agenda for reducing disproportionality and disparate treatment in the foster care system. Once developed, the National Agenda was to be implemented in the NCJFCJ's Model Court jurisdictions. The CCC National Agenda was launched in 2007 with support from the highest levels of the NCJFCJ. The CCC National Agenda is composed of five core components: engaging stakeholders, transforming judicial practice, using data and research, evaluating policy and law, and impacting the services for children and families in the child welfare system. The CCC's PPH Benchcard is one tool in the effort to reduce disproportionality and disparate treatment at the point the child and family first appear in court. The Benchcard is built around two types of inquiry: internal and external. The internal inquiry is specified in a self-reflection section that contains questions designed to help judges examine potential biases that may influence their decisions. The Benchcard addresses key inquiries, analyses, and decisions the court should make at the PPH. This report also reviews pilot studies of the PPH Benchcard's usability and effectiveness; and it provides guidelines for the Benchcard's implementation based on feedback from the field.