OJJDP FY24 Child Abuse Training for Judicial and Court Personnel

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) has a rich history of training judicial officers, court personnel, and multidisciplinary teams in the juvenile and family court system. This experience, backed by evaluation, has improved court processes, services provided, and outcomes for children and families who enter the juvenile and family courts. The NCJFCJ proposes to make system improvements in court processes that will improve the judicial system’s handling of child abuse, neglect, and related cases, with a specific emphasis on the role of the courts in addressing reasonable efforts that can safely avoid unnecessary and prolonged foster care placement, and meaningfully advance equity and remove barriers for families who have been marginalized and adversely affected by inequality and disproportionately impacted by crime, violence, and victimization.

The NCJFCJ will accomplish this by developing a model approach/procedures for coordinating information and services for families involved in court-related child abuse and neglect cases; developing and delivering training and technical assistance that supports this model approach; increasing judicial and court personnel’s knowledge of evidence-based practices related to addressing and meeting the needs of child abuse and neglect victims; developing and guiding administrative improvements in juvenile and family courts related to handling child abuse and neglect cases; and, identifying and supporting implementation of best practices, enhanced collaboration, and coordinated case management of child abuse, neglect and related cases.

System reforms will be directed at the local, state, and national levels with a concentration on a system change collaborative and will be achieved by targeted training for state and tribal court judicial officers and other juvenile and family court professionals; onsite and virtual tailored technical assistance, training, expert guidance; assessment of court practices; offering trauma consultations, and dissemination of strategies for enhanced practice in juvenile and family courts.

The NCJFCJ, with the assistance of OJJDP and its partners, has a proven track record of successful projects that have led to improved practice, collaboration, and outcomes. The NCJFCJ demonstration sites continue to pioneer system reform efforts as laboratories for systems change and serve as mentors and training sites for other courts across the nation. The NCJFCJ’s approach to training and technical assistance has yielded numerous positive changes in courts across the country, and it will continue to do so under the current proposed project.