MEASURING PROGRESS IN IMPROVING COURT PROCESSING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES |
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| Authors: | Victor E. Flango |
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| Affiliation: | Victor E. Flango is the vice president of the National Center for State Courts and head of the Research Division. He has directed numerous research projects dealing with such topics as court delay, adoption and foster care, child abuse and neglect, federal diversity of citizenship jurisdiction, federal habeas corpus review of state court convictions, and an interrelated set of studies on criteria used to determine the need for judges and court support staff. His Ph. D. degree is from the University of Hawaii (1970) and he is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management. |
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| Abstract: | With all of the changes in federal law relating to child maltreatment, foster care, and adoption, courts have become active partners with child welfare agencies in assuring safety and permanency for children. Outcome measures are needed to track achievement of the distinct goals of courts and those goals they share with child welfare agencies. This article presents a set of measures that focuses on the court contribution to desirable outcomes for children and families. These measures have undergone extensive development, review, and field testing by representatives from several national organizations interested in court reform and child welfare, but they still require more discussion and refinement. Indeed, outcome measures are an essential component of a process of continuing improvement, which means they need to be reviewed periodically to ensure they are valid, reliable, and not redundant. |
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