RESOURCE COLLECTION

Understanding Child Welfare and the Courts

Child welfare agencies and legal and judicial communities have many common goals and a history of collaboration intended to improve outcomes for children and families. The purpose of court hearings is to determine whether children and youth are safe, not to prosecute parents or guardians. It is essential that all children and youth, families, caregivers, and advocates are authentically engaged in decision-making throughout their experience.

This collection offers a variety of publications and resources from Child Welfare Information Gateway designed to help you effectively work with and engage youth and families during state and tribal court hearings. Use these resources to help families feel prepared and informed.

Featured Publications

• Understanding Child Welfare
  and the Courts
  (also available in Spanish)
  This factsheet offers essential information for families navigating
  the child welfare system and judicial process, detailing their rights and responsibilities, the stages of court proceedings, and preparation tips
  for court hearings.
  
  
• Court Improvement Programs: Collaboration Between Child
  Welfare Agencies and Legal and Judicial Communities
  This factsheet focuses on collaboration and relationship
  building between legal and judicial communities and child welfare agencies through the Court Improvement Program.

From the publication Understanding Child Welfare and the Courts.

• Forensic Interviewing: A Primer for Child Welfare Professionals
  This factsheet offers child welfare professionals a concise overview of forensic interviewing, emphasizing its importance in legal settings and its impact on their work with children and families during child protective services investigations.
  
  
• Links to State and Tribal Child Welfare Law and Policy 
  These state statutes, available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website, provide child welfare professionals with essential links to laws, regulations, and policies across states and territories that govern child protection, adoption, legal guardianship, tribal child welfare, and support for youth transitioning out of foster care.
  
  
• Religious Rights of Youth in Out-of-Home Care 
  This publication reviews state, territory, and tribal laws and policies that safeguard the religious rights of youth in out-of-home care, emphasizing the importance of maintaining their religious connections and the responsibility of child-placing agencies to facilitate appropriate placements that support these connections.

Topic Sections:

• Courts
  This resource collection highlights the collaborative efforts of child welfare agencies and the legal and judicial communities, emphasizing the importance of equitable practices, authentic engagement of families, and quality legal representation to enhance safety and outcomes for children and youth involved in court proceedings.
  
  
• Judicial, Court, and Attorney Measures of Performance
  This resource collection offers insights into the Judicial, Court, and Attorney Measures of Performance, which provide essential guidelines and performance measures for professionals in the child welfare system.
  
  
• Family Treatment Courts
  This resource collection outlines the role of family treatment courts in supporting families affected by parental substance use disorders through a collaborative, family-centered approach that promotes equitable access to culturally responsive, trauma-informed services while addressing issues of stigma and racial disproportionality in child welfare.
  
  
• Court Improvement Programs
  This resource collection details the Court Improvement Program, which provides federal funding to state and tribal courts for assessing and enhancing child welfare and judicial practices.

Podcast Episodes:

• "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Revising Your Children's Code" (Episode 33)
  This episode discusses the challenges faced and methods used by tribal courts in reviewing and updating their Children's Codes to better protect children and support family reunification in cases of abuse and neglect.
  
  
• "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Building Relationships With State Counterparts" (Episode 37)
  This episode explores the importance of collaboration between tribal social services and state child welfare systems, highlighting successful strategies from the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe to enhance communication and improve outcomes for tribal families.

Featured Resources:

• State, Territory, and Tribal Resources
  This resource offers a comprehensive directory to access contact information for foster care and adoption agencies, support groups, and state offices, as well as summaries of child welfare laws and policies across all U.S. states and territories and certain tribes.
  
  
• Dear Colleague Letter on Addressing the Complex Needs of Dually Involved Youth
  In a significant joint letter, the Children's Bureau and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) express their commitment to addressing the complex needs of young people navigating both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, aiming to create a more supportive framework for intervention and care.
  
  
• OJJDP Dual System Youth Design Study: Summary of Findings and Recommendations for Pursuing a National Estimate of Dual System Youth
  This study, conducted as part of the U.S. Justice Department's OJJDP Dual System Youth Design Study, aims to bridge the knowledge gap regarding collaboration between child welfare and juvenile justice systems by identifying best practices, challenges, and characteristics of youth involved in both systems, ultimately proposing a method for generating a national estimate of this population.

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