Asking the Right Questions: Utilizing a Judicial Checklist to Track the Educational Success of Youth in Foster Care

Asking about the educational objectives for children in foster care has not been a priority in most juvenile and family courts. Research has shown that compared to the general school population, children in foster care have lower grade point averages, change schools more frequently, earn fewer credits toward graduation, and are more likely to be placed in special education programs. In response, Casey Family Programs, in collaboration with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges' Permanency Planning for Children Department, developed a Judicial Checklist with key educational questions to be asked from the bench. The Checklist has become a useful tool for juvenile and family court judges when assessing the effectiveness of current educational placements of the children who come before their courts, tracking their performance, and in making a positive future impact on their educational outcomes.     

MAINTAINING RESEARCH ACCESS IN POLICE ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract This paper explores certain of the general problems associated with maintaining research access in police organizations. Among the problems researchers are likely to encounter are difficulties in communicating and winning the acceptance of street-level patrol officers, problems in developing a mutually acceptable field role, and threats of premature termination. The solutions suggested include specific and repeated efforts to inform patrol-level officers of the research, emphasis of the occupational features of the traditional participant-as-observer role, and making specific plans to deal with attempts at premature termination.     

OFFICIAL CRIME DATA: Lag in Recording Time as a Threat to Validity

Official reports are the preferred measure of criminal activity when the goal is to understand whether criminal justice clients are less involved in crime in the posttreatment than in the pretreatment period. However, even this preferred method has drawbacks. Data presented here show that there is a recording time lag in official crime data. At times, the gap between time of crime commission and entry of the offense onto the subject's police record is considerable. Data collected in a short span of time after the treatment period are likely to underestimate crime committed in that period. Consequently, findings of change in the level of involvement in crime should be interpreted with caution.