Why Juvenile Courts Should Address Family Violence: Promising Practices to Improve Intervention Outcomes

The prevalence of domestic violence in juvenile court cases justifies modifying our interventions to reflect this unfortunate reality. This article focuses primarily on juvenile victimization of parents and the model programs emerging in juvenile courts to address it. Part I examines family violence's prevalence in the juvenile court caseloads, despite its lack of consideration in most dispositions. Part II begins with a comparative analysis of the drug court trend and discusses the trend's applicability for specialized family violence applications in the Juvenile Court. The King County (Wash.) Juvenile Court's Step‐Up Program is introduced, which directly addresses family violence with intervention programs for youth perpetrators and abused parents, followed by the Santa Clara County (Calif.) Juvenile Court's Family Violence program, shown as a model worthy of replication. Part III details the process by which the Travis County (Texas) Juvenile Court is implementing a program similar to these models. Part IV concludes that juvenile courts must address family violence as an overt or underlying issue in many cases and must identify and address the danger to our troubled youths, whether offender or victim. I argue that the domestic violence community's treatment expertise must inform our juvenile courts' interventions with violent, often insular, families. In Travis County, we are committed to learning as much as possible about youth resilience–to identify and treat battered and battering teens to prevent the inter‐generational cycle from repeating itself while making our homes, communities, and schools safe.     

WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST AWARD ADDRESS

The William H. Rehnquist Award is one of the most celebrated judicial honors in the country. ¹ It is given each year to a state court judge who demonstrates the "highest level of judicial excellence, integrity, fairness, and professional ethics." ² The 2004 recipient, Judge Leonard Edwards, is the Supervising Judge of the Santa Clara County, California juvenile dependency court. ³ He is the first juvenile court judge to receive this prestigious award. During the 24 years he has held his position, Judge Edwards has worked extremely hard to improve how the juvenile court system serves troubled families. He has founded two organizations to achieve this end, the Juvenile Court Judges of California and the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council. ⁴ Judge Edwards serves as a lead judge in San Jose's Model Court, which is one of twenty-five jurisdictions in the country which utilizes new ideas and techniques to improve adoption rates for children in foster care. ⁵ Moreover, he has worked as president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. ⁶ Below is the speech he gave after accepting the award from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. The speech notes the importance of the award to everyone working in America's juvenile courts.     

Juvenile Mental Health Court: Rationale and Protocols

Under the sponsorship of the judiciary, the Santa Clara County, California Juvenile Court, in partnership with the Juvenile Mental Health Department and a technical assistance agency (SOLOMON), has pioneered a Juvenile Mental Health Court for seriously mentally ill children who have become involved in the criminal justice system. The judiciary, probation department, district attorney, public defender, county counsel, and service providers have collectively embarked upon the implementation of a modern approach to mental health diagnosis, triage, and treatment services for youth and families who come in contact with the justice system as a result of the combination of serious mental illness and juvenile delinquency. This article presents the court's rationale and protocols.     

“I didn't Know You were Fighting So Hard for me”: Attorneys' Perceptions of Youth Participation in Child Dependency Proceedings

This study examined attorneys' perceptions of youth participation in child dependency proceedings. Surveys and semi‐structured interviews were conducted with attorneys who represent adolescents in child dependency proceedings. Three dimensions of participation were identified: receiving information, providing information, and self‐advocacy. Barriers to youth participation included individual‐level factors, such as the youth or the attorney not wanting the youth to attend, and system‐level factors, such as the scheduling of court hearings, large caseloads, long waits, and cases being adjourned multiple times. Recommendations for enhancing youth participation in child dependency proceedings are presented.     

MEDIATION IN THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUVENILE DEPENDENCY COURT

This article presents the results of a 9-month interdisciplinary task force convened to review the mediation process in the juvenile dependency court and to develop guidelines for its operation by the conciliation court, stemming from a grand jury recommendation.     

DEPENDENCY MEDIATION

Dependency mediation has emerged as a new field for resolving disputes involving child protection disputes. Program guidelines concerning issues of referral to mediation; compliance with time standards; confidentiality; court review of agreements; participation of the parties, participants, and counsel; and program evaluation are discussed. Training and qualification issues for dependency mediators are reviewed. Recommendations are made regarding the future of dependency mediation.     

Legal Representation in the Juvenile Dependency System: Travis County,Texas’ Parent Representation Pilot Project

This study examines outcomes related to a parent representation pilot program in Travis County, Texas. Participation in the pilot program was related to earlier attorney appointment, a higher percentage of attorney presence across the life of the case, and a higher percentage of permanent outcomes for children. Parents’ percentage of presence at hearings across the life of the case was related to the child being returned home, dismissal of the juvenile dependency petition, and permanent management conservatorship. Early attorney appointment (i.e., less than 10 days from the initial hearing to full appointment) was related to permanent case outcomes.     

SEX AND HISTORY

California requires mediation of almost all child custody disputes. The effects of the variables of client and attorney gender, obtaining settlements, and prior mediation and litigation history were examined in a sample of 150 parents who completed surveys after mediating at the Los Angeles County Conciliation Court mediation service. Clients of female attorneys were more likely to respond negatively after failing to settle and were adversely affected by prior family law litigation. Female attorneys were more likely to treat fathers and mothers differently. Clients of male attorneys became negative after prior mediation but not litigation. Clients represented by attorneys of either sex found mediation procedures more helpful than did unrepresented parents. Having an opposite-sex attorney was correlated with communicating with the other parent. Both sexes expressed strong support for the mediation process regardless of whether they settled, although disputants who did settle reported a higher rate of satisfaction than did those who did not. Attorney support for the mediation was important to its success, and having opposite-sex attorneys may promote settlement.     

Perspectives on Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Dependency Court in Cases Involving Battered Mothers

A qualitative study was conducted involving clients, victim advocates, and judges participating in one of Miami‐Dade County's (Florida) “therapeutic” juvenile court based programs, the Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence (DCIPFV). The primary objective of this study was to assess how battered mothers’ perceptions of the dependency court judges’ actions impacted the women's motivation to take appropriate actions to promote their own, and their child(ren)'s safety.     

A LAWYER FOR EVERY CHILD: CLIENT-DIRECTED REPRESENTATION IN DEPENDENCY CASES

The article begins with a due process analysis concluding that children are legally entitled to counsel and continues by presenting examples of federal and state legislation, court decisions, and public policy arguments that support this right. The article then goes a step further to advocate for a traditional, client-directed model of representation, which empowers children and leads to better judicial decision making. Finally, the article discusses the impact of high caseloads and lack of training on attorney performance. This article serves as an important addition to the academic literature examining the need for and role of the child's attorney in dependency proceedings.     

Judicial Perspectives on Family Drug Treatment Courts

Family Drug Treatment Courts are a specialized calendar or docket that operates within the juvenile dependency court. These courts provide the setting for a collaborative effort by the court and all the participants in the child protection system to come together in a non‐adversarial setting to determine the individual treatment needs of substance‐abusing parents whose children are under the jurisdiction of the dependency court. This article is intended to give judges and others a judicial perspective on FDTCs, and to offer some assistance for those who are operating or who are considering creating one.     

Advocacy Perspectives on the Greenbook: Interviews with Domestic Violence Advocates from Three Federally Funded Greenbook Sites

Between 2000 and 2005, six sites engaged in local implementation of recommendations made in Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment: Guidelines for Policy and Practice (the Greenbook), published by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in 1999. This three‐part article reflects recorded conversations in June and July of 2019 and captures the perspectives of five domestic violence advocates who participated in local Greenbook implementation (in El Paso County, CO; San Francisco County, CA; or Santa Clara County, CA) and their thoughts on the Greenbook work then, since then, and going forward.     

An Evaluation of a Delaware Teen Court

The Kent County Teen Court Program (teen court) provides sanctions for juvenile delinquency from a panel of a juvenile's peers rather than from a Family Court Judge. Part of the concept behind teen peer courts is that the sanction from one's peers carries more weight than sanctions from adults. The Delaware Criminal Justice Council (CJC) awarded a grant to Delaware ‐ Teen Courts, Inc. to support the operation of the Kent County Teen Court Program. The teen court program was designed to provide participants with hands‐on education in the judicial process, to create a sanction pro‐ gram that will not create a permanent record for a juvenile, and to foster, a sense of community responsibility in the program participants. The teen court program is an adult model teen court in which all of the judicial actors are juveniles with the exception of the judge. This article reflects the results of an evaluation on the Kent County Teen Court program's first two years of operation (Garrison, 2001).     

DEPENDENCY COURT MEDIATION

This article discusses the roles and levels of participation of the various participants in juvenile and dependency court mediation, and also examines potential gains and losses associated with participation for family members and the social worker.     

How the Framework of Implementation Science Guided an Evidence‐Based Dependency Parenting Program Initiative in Florida

In Florida, like most states, many of the parenting programs that are being utilized with families in the dependency system are non‐evidence based, and fail to provide quantifiable data on parent progress during and after completion of the programs. Providing pertinent information in court on parents’ progress in a parenting program, as opposed to simply monitoring attendance, is a growing need voiced by dependency judges and child welfare case management professionals. Clear, reliable information related to parenting skills acquisition and insight can help to ensure that families involved in the child welfare system have access to quality services that improve outcomes for their children. The purpose of this paper is to detail how a statewide initiative to increase the number of Florida circuits providing evidence‐based parenting programs to their clients utilized implementation science to guide their process, and the degree to which the participating circuits achieved full implementation of evidence‐based parenting programs.     

JUVENILE OFFENDERS MEET THEIR VICTIMS

The process of allowing certain victims of crime to confront their juvenile offender in the presence of a trained mediator to both talkabout the event andnegotiate aplan for compensating the victim is developing in a growing number of communities throughout the United States. This article reports on the impact of the victim offender mediation program in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is based on interviews with 206 victims and juvenile offenders in Albuquerque, as well as interviews with court officials andprogram stas This program represenisa strong court and community partnership. victims and offenders whoparticipated in mediation indicated high levels of satisfaction with both the processand outcomes of mediation. Wctims who were involved in mediation, particularly, were considerably more likely to indicate satisfaction with the manner in which the juvenile justice system handled their case than were those victims who were referred to mediation but did nut participate or similar victims who were never even referred to the mediation program. Offenders who negotiated their restitution obligation with the victim were far more likely to actually complete restitution, when compared to offenders whose restitution was ordered by the court with no mediation program involvement.     

Forgotten Children of Immigration and Family Law: How The Absence of Legal Aid Affects Children in the United States

The absence of government‐appointed legal counsel in immigration proceedings adversely affects large numbers of children in the United States. Children born in the United States to parents without citizenship status (U.S.‐born children of noncitizen parents or UCNP) are harmed by a parent's detention and removal. Unaccompanied alien children (UAC) who have entered the country without legal status are adversely affected by their own detention and removal. The possibility of obtaining relief from removal is drastically diminished by the lack of legal representation. Currently UAC and immigrant parents are not entitled to court‐appointed attorneys. Any meaningful change in immigration law, such as a federal statutory amendment to provide UAC and immigrant parents with government‐appointed counsel is unlikely due to the present political dissension in Congress regarding this issue. Because UAC and immigrant parents are not entitled to government‐funded legal representation, a pro bono legal service system has developed, but is unable to meet the present need adequately. For immigrant parents, this Note proposes the adoption of a statute to allow the appointment of court liaisons in family court proceedings. The court liaison is a nonattorney who is familiar with the processes of the family court and ensures that immigrant parents are fully informed regarding all pertinent family court proceedings. For UAC, this Note proposes an amendment to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to mandate the appointment of a child advocate to all UAC. The child advocate is not a lawyer, but works with the UAC's attorney to provide the child with legal representation and advocacy.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• UCNP confront the loss of parents to detention and removal. Children are condemned to limbo, torn between absent biological parents and placement in foster care.
• The recent surge in the number of UAC who enter the United States by crossing the border from Mexico has been described as a humanitarian crisis. These children often remain alone without legal protection, vulnerable to detention and removal.
• Ideally, UAC and the immigrant parents would be provided with government‐funded legal representation in immigration proceedings. In the absence of the federal statutory reform necessary to make that a reality, state statutory reform to allow for the provision of court liaison programs for immigrant parents and federal statutory reform to allow the appointment of child advocates for UAC can begin to offer children and families needed legal support and advocacy.

     

FUNDING JUVENILE DEPENDENCY MEDIATION THROUGH LEGISLATION

The legislative process is a dynamic but intimidating journey. For the uninitiated seeker the road through the legislative labyrinth can be fraught with hidden dangers and unexpected challenges. This article presents Los Angeles County's experience in obtaining funding for mediation of child abuse cases in juvenile dependency proceedings through legislation.     

The Nature of Programs Used in Response to Delinquent Behavior Among Juveniles

The history of responses to juvenile misconduct indicates that a wide variety of approaches have been used. Even prior to the establishment of the first juvenile court at Cook County, Illinois, in 1899 some alternatives were attempted in an effort to deal with younger offenders. A major premise underpinning the establishment of juvenile court jurisdiction during the early 1900's was to provide a wider range of options by selecting effective responses that would operate in the best interests of the child. To a large extent, this search continues today. In this paper the focus is only on public offense and status offense cases. We will not examine other areas of responsibility such as welfare services for youth, child abuse, neglect and foster care.

An examination of programs in existence reveals a high degree of diversity. The literature on this topic is quite scattered and there are few organized means available by which to compare and contrast so many different programs. A purpose of this paper is to provide students a framework by which to view various courses of action that have characterized responses to misconduct among juveniles. Considering interventions according to (1) focus, (2) process, (3) degree of restriction, and (4) vehicle provides a basis for comparing and contrasting the many different programs in existence.

Liberal use of specific examples of more recent programs are included that reflect contemporary thought as well as possible future direction. Readers should note that the aim is not to evaluate whether a given program is effective. However, contrary to Martinsons' insistence that “nothing works,” Ross and Gendreau provide examples of programs that have demonstrated effectiveness. Examples utilized in this paper were selected from among those indicating positive results.     

Balancing power through law: The state v. the juvenile in delinquency proceedings

A content analysis of Maryland's juvenile court law spanning 1947–1978 posed two questions: (1) Had the state legislature redefined the juvenile court process in the matter of delinquency such that the juvenile received more power resources relative to those of the state? (2) Did the ratio of the state's and the juvenile's power resources diminish to the point of negligibility? Findings suggest that the court process may have been structurally revised without a significant change in the overall relationship of the parties in the process.