The child welfare court process encompasses a complex series of court hearings throughout the life of a case, each with their own specific focus, meant to help children find a safe permanent home. Research has demonstrated a relationship between what occurs in court hearings and positive outcomes for children and families, with higher quality court hearings related to better outcomes.
Best practices in the field have articulated what a high-quality hearing might look like. In particular, the Enhanced Resource Guidelines, Improving Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases (ERGs) is considered foundational guidance, informing judges and legal professionals of best practices in court hearings. Some of these best practices have research evidence that demonstrates a relationship to improved outcomes for children and families.
Best practice guidelines and research yield six primary constructs of a high-quality court hearing.
These include:
- Presence of parties, with representation
- Engagement of parents and youth
- Judicial inquiry
- Depth and breadth of discussion of key topics
- Competent legal representation
- Appropriate and detailed findings on the record
In the upcoming slides, each of these constructs will be presented with additional information to clarify what the construct means. The information will present best practices related to hearing quality constructs. More in-depth information on best practices can be found in the Enhanced Resource Guidelines, Improving Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases (ERG). 1 When applicable research exists about the construct, it will be included for the description.
Sidebar - It is important to note that nearly all of the research is correlational. It shows associations between two variables but does not indicate that the construct causes an improved outcome. For example, research on parties’ presence demonstrates that parents who are present more often at hearings also have higher likelihood of reunification. It may be that parents who are more motivated to get their kids back are also more likely to attend hearings or other factors that would increase the likelihood of both attending hearings and reunifying.
