1. 1 Seventh Annual National Citizen Review Panel Conference: The River Rushes On May 22, 2008 Minnesota’s “Children’s Justice Initiative” (CJI): Statewide Collaboration In Action Judith Nord, Staff Attorney Minnesota Judicial Branch State Court Administrators Office judy.nord@courts.state.mn.usjudy.nord@courts.state.mn.us or 651-282-3972

2. 2 Overview of Presentation  Foundational data.  What is the CJI?  How was the CJI implemented statewide?  What processes and procedures were improved?  How did it improve outcomes for abused and neglected children?

3. Foundational Data  Population: State population over 5 million; Child population 1.3 million  Child Welfare System: State Supervised, County Administered  Court System: 87 counties organized into 10 judicial districts; only the two largest counties have judges who preside solely over child protection cases 3

4. 4 Children Deserve Safe, Stable, Permanent Homes Minnesota in 2007:  58,221, reports of maltreatment  20,005 reports accepted for assessment involving 27,300 children  14,823 children spent some time in out-of- home placement – an average of 314 days

5. 5 Children Deserve Safe, Stable, Permanent Homes  5,920 child protection and 1,530 TPR petitions filed  22% of children were moved 1 time and 16.4 % were moved 2 or more times  Parental chemical health and mental health issues are underlying causes of majority of cases

6. Why the Need for Collaboration? 6 “If the nation had deliberately designed a system that would frustrate the professionals who staff it, anger the public who finance it, and abandon the children who depend on it, it could not have done a better job than the present child-welfare system… Marginal changes will not turn this system around.” National Commission on Children

7. 7 What is the CJI? Overview:  Collaboration between MN Supreme Court and MN Department of Human Services  Two state agencies work with county child protection system stakeholders

8. 8 What is the CJI? Overview (cont’d):  Objective is to timely find safe, stable, permanent homes for abused and neglected children

9. 9 What is the CJI?  CJI Mission: To ensure that, in a fair and timely manner, abused and neglected children involved in the juvenile protection court system have safe, stable, permanent families.

10. 10 What is the CJI? Overview (cont’d) :  Multidisciplinary team in each county  Collaboration at State, District, and County levels

11. 11 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  Implemented in three phases: –12 counties in 2001 –15 counties in 2002 –60 counties in 2003

12. 12 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  Lead Judge designated in each county  Lead Judges attended an orientation meeting to learn about their role and how to form their county team

13. 13 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  All Lead Judges and the Director of each County Social Services Agency attended a Leadership Meeting  Learned about need for collaboration and respective roles

14. 14 Rule 1 “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” Indira Ghandi (1917-1984) Prime Minister of India

15. 15 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  CJI teams have been formed in all 87 counties  “Decision-makers” and “line staff” represented at on every county team

16. 16 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  Judges  Court Admin.  County Attys.  Social Services  Guardians ad litem  Parent/child attorneys  Tribal Reps.  Foster Parents  School Officials  Law Enforcement  Probation/Court Services  Service providers from medical, chemical health, mental health, and domestic violence  County Board Reps.  Legislators

17. 17 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  Judges held 2 “start up” team meetings designed to learn more about each other’s roles and responsibilities in order to do better for children and families

18. 18 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  Up to 15 members of each team attended a two-day, statewide Kickoff Conference

19. 19 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  County teams began review of the County Practice Guide during Kickoff Conference  Monthly meetings to continue review and to develop action plan to improve practices

20. 20 How was the CJI implemented statewide?  Technical Assistance  Cross-systems Training  Stakeholder Checklists  Juvenile Protection Rules  Judges Benchbook  Model Orders  Website  Newsletter

21. 21 Rule 2 “If you do what you’ve always done, You’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Anonymous

22. 22 Rule 3 “Even if you think you are on the right track, You’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rogers

23. 23 Improved Processes and Procedures: General  Better understanding of each others’ role and responsibilities  Increased cooperation  Statewide cross- systems training  Stakeholder-specific training

24. 24 Improved Processes and Procedures: Judges  Increased judicial oversight of cases  “No continuance” policy for hearings enforced  Orders issued in court at end of hearing

25. 25 Improved Processes and Procedures: County Attys.  Process to decide whether filing of petition is necessary (pre-petition screening)  Process for parties to gain early access to agency files to minimize disputes over discovery

26. 26 Improved Processes and Procedures: Social Services  Out-of-home placement plan filed within 30 days of removal  Front loading of services  Early engagement of parents  Increased number of adoptions

27. 27 Improved Processes and Procedures: Schools  Enhanced collaboration with social services agency  Diversion programs being implemented for truancy cases

28. 28 Improved Processes and Procedures: Tribal Reps.  Enhanced collaboration to deliver services to Indian families  Tribes involved early in decision-making  “Active efforts” requirements of ICWA are met

29. 29 Improved Processes and Procedures: Attys for Parents and Children  Early appointment and assignment of attorneys  Attorneys participate at every stage of proceedings

30. 30 Improved Processes and Procedures: Law Enforcement  Enhanced collaboration with social services agency  Joint protocols for taking children into custody

31. 31 Improved Processes and Procedures: Court Administration  Time-certain, staggered hearings  Increased hearing lengths  Orders and notice of next hearing delivered at close of hearing  Juvenile Court orientation video

32. 32 Improved Processes and Procedures: Guardians Ad Litem  GAL assigned to each case  Appears at first hearing  Reports filed and served 5 days before hearing

33. 33 Rule 4 “No matter where we are on the road, some people are ahead of us and some people are behind us.” Lael Winer-Cyr 15-year-old Student

34. 34 Improved Outcomes for Children  CJI Core Goals and Standards  Includes Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) goals: –Safety –Permanency –Well-being –Due Process

35. 35 Improved Outcomes for Children  The rate of Guardian Ad Litem appointments improved from 55% in 2001 to 80% in 2002 to 97% in 2003

36. 36 Improved Outcomes for Children  An average of 2.3 judges presided over each child protection case in 2002 and 2003  We plan to reach a one-judge one- family rate

37. 37 Improved Outcomes for Children  From 2001-2003, foster care re-entries decreased 24.07%, and stability of foster care placements increased 13.43%

38. 38 Improved Outcomes for Children  Services to families to protect children in home and prevent removal increased from 79.31% in 2001 to 84.40% in 2003

39. 39 Improved Outcomes for Children  From 2001 – 2003, placement with siblings increased 17.72% and visitation with parents and siblings in foster care inceased 18.55%

40. 40 Improved Outcomes for Children  Children’s permanency and stability in their living situations increased from 62.50% in 2001 to 75.93% in 2003

41. 41 Improved Outcomes for Children  From 2001 to 2003, adoption rates increased 12.5% from 75% to 87.50%

42. 42 Rule 5 “Courage is being scared – saddle up anyway.” John Wayne

43. Quality Assurance 43

44. Correlation Between High- Functioning Teams and Improved Outcomes for Families Characteristics of High-Functioning Team:  Strong judicial leadership and support from agency administration  Broad-based membership, including representatives from all legal disciplines and community stakeholders  Regular and substantive meetings  Meaningful work plans  Improved communication and court practices  Observable results/outcomes 44

45. 45 OUTCOME PERMANENCY 1 High Functioning CJI Teams N= Comparison Group CJI Teams N= Outcome P1: Children have permanency and stability in their living situations 87%36 55%33 Item 5: Foster care re-entry 81%22 44%21 Item 6: Stability of foster care 89%36 84%33 Item 7: Permanency goal for child 88%36 71%33 Item 8: Reunification or transfer of physical and legal custody 88%21 75%21 Item 9: Adoption 87%9 70%7 Item 10: Permanency goal of long- term foster care 100%8 40%9

46. 46 Rule 6  When you come to the fork in the road, take it. Yogi Berra

47. And the River Rushes On It’s a drop in the bucket, and a bucket in a pond, And the pond fills the river, and the river rushes on. Every river swells a river, until the power can’t be stopped. And what becomes a mighty ocean, started as a drop. 47

48. 48 Questions?