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35 Child L. Prac. 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/chilawpt35 and id is 1 raw text is: IIMPROVING' C~rt,-,-' Enhancing the Quality of Hearings in New York State: Using Data to Drive Improvement by Alicia Summers and Christine Kiesel 'Tlhe law requires frequent judicial review to achieve timely . permanency for children placed outside of their homes. How do you ensure quality does not get pushed aside for timeliness? Go to the frontlines --- observe court hearings, talk to and survey jurists, child welfare clients, attorneys, foster parents and others. Gather data to gauge what is happening in court, what's working and what's not. This is the approach New York State is taking, with good results. This article shares that approach and offers ideas for other states looking to keep quality at the forefront in child welfare proceedings. In December 2005, New York enacted ambitious legislation to strengthen the judicial oversight of child welfare cases required by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). That leg- islation created a new Article 10-A of the Family Court Act requiring more frequent permanency hearings for all children who are the subject of peti- tions alleging abuse or neglect, or for whom an application is sought seek- ing voluntary placement into foster care. The new law replaced a prior law which mirrored ASFA's timeframes. New York State Family Court Act (FCA) Article 10-A provides that the initial permanency hearing for a child who is not freed for adoption begin generally no later than ...six months from the date which is sixty days after the child was removed from his or her home: and that later permanency hearings be scheduled for a date certain which shall be no later than six months after the completion of the previous permanency hearing...2 This mandatory expedited timeframe for holding permanency hearings allows jurists and professionals to attend more often to the critical conversations that are necessary to achieve timely, safe., and appropriate permanency for children. A review of New York State's data on the timeliness of permanency hear- ings shows the legislative effort to hold more frequent permanency hearings was successful. The data reveal that for the 2012 entry cohort of children, 83% of initial permanency hearings were completed within the statutory timeframes, and 93% of subsequent permanency hearings were completed timely. Despite the legislation's success, requiring permanency hearings in a shorter time frame added pressure to an overburdened court system and jurists' calendars. It also lacked added resources to support implementation. In addition to increasing the number and frequency of perma- nency hearings Article 10-A aims to provide children placed out of their homes timely and effective judicial review that promotes permanency, safety and well-being in their lives. To fulfill that purpose, jurists were required to hear these cases more fre- quently and address children's safety, permanency, and well-being. The challenge became carving out enough time to provide children with this ef- fective judicial review in the face of existing stresses on the system. (Cont'd on p. 6) What's Inside: 2 CASE LAW UPDATE 10 TOOLBOX What is My Next Question? Four Common Interviewer Responses II LEGISLATIVE UPDATE President Obama Reauthorizes Every Student Succeeds Act 12 POLICY UPDATE The State of Grandfamilies in America: 2015 14 NEW IN PRINT Representing Parents in Child Welfare Cases 16 CAREER CORNER

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