Minnesota State Courts | 2003 Annual Report

Children's Justice

The Minnesota Judicial Branch recognizes the strong links between childhood maltreatment and juvenile delinquency, and adult crime. Statistics indicating more than 75 percent of our nation’s prison inmates have had contact with the child protection system demand that we do a better job handling child protection cases when they are first in our courts. In 2003, the Minnesota Judicial Branch continued its plan to reform the system.

Seeing “Through the Eyes of the Child”

Minnesota counties not yet involved in the Children’s Justice Initiative began preparing to kick off their involvement in 2004. Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz and the Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner started the Initiative in 2001 with the hopes of improving child protection case processing and providing permanent homes for maltreated children through reunification with their birth families or placement with another family in a more timely manner.

Lead judges in participating counties form teams from juvenile court, social services departments, county attorneys’ and public defenders’ offices, court administration, Guardian ad Litem programs, and others involved in child abuse and neglect cases. Each team studies how its county currently processes child protection cases. Using national best practices guidelines, the teams then implement changes to better meet the needs of children. By the end of 2004, all 87 Minnesota counties will participate in the country’s first statewide child protection court reform effort.

To date, the Initiative has led to many changes in Minnesota’s courts, including:

Training about people’s roles in the system, the Indian Child Welfare Act and Title IV-E for professionals and community members involved in child protection cases.
Eliminating the “cattle call” scheduling of child protection cases and instead scheduling date- and time-certain court hearings that decrease delay.
Implementing a “one judge, one family” system, which allows a judge to become better acquainted with a case, and places the responsibility for case management and future court hearings in the judge’s hands.
Developing child protection forms and procedures that give families information about services available to them early on in child protection proceedings.
Issuing orders at the end of each hearing or decreasing the time for completing orders so the parties clearly understand what occurred in court.
Pilot testing model order templates that are easier for parties to understand. The templates will be distributed to all judges and county attorneys statewide.
Using “family group decision making” to improve the quality and amount of services given to families, and to settle cases earlier so children reach permanency.

Improving Adoption Programs

The Olmsted County Children’s Justice Initiative (CJI) received recognition from the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy for its contributions to improving adoption timelines. Federal standards state that when children are available for adoption, they should be placed with a family within two years. Olmsted County met this standard about 31 percent of the time in 2000, but due to CJI and other efforts, the rate increased to almost 92 percent in 2002.

CJI strengthened the court processes involved in adoption by improving court scheduling, instituting a no-continuance policy and creating a parallel protection process. During the parallel protection process, settlement conferences occur in all child protection cases that do not involve the termination of parental rights. The conferences provide an opportunity for parties to discuss their concerns and ask questions early in the court process. The results are quicker and result in more meaningful settlements.

Advocating for Children

Minnesota’s Guardian ad Litem program, which provides advocates who represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in court, underwent improvements in 2003. When the Guardian ad Litem system was county funded, guardians represented only 60 percent of abused and neglected children in 2000, though state and federal law had required 100 percent coverage for 25 years. Following the transfer of the Guardian ad Litem system to state funding, and thanks to the commitment of judges, court staff, the Legislature and efforts to recruit guardians, Minnesota closed the gap and currently provides Guardians for nearly 90 percent of abused and neglected children. Our goal is to reach 100 percent coverage by 2005, as resources and budget allow.

The court continues to build a Guardian ad Litem system that is state funded, supervised and supported with consistent training and oversight, judicial district administered, and locally operated. Minnesota has become a national role model because it requires Guardians to undergo extensive training prior to their first appointment, attend continuing education programs, and conduct investigations and evaluations according to preset standards. In addition, we:

Developed a statewide administrative structure of 10 district Guardian ad Litem programs that replaced 56 different local programs. The change has promoted consistent policy and practice, and ensures accountability.
Completed a standard Guardian ad Litem contract that meets legal standards, ensures quality service delivery and more efficiently uses budget resources.
Implemented a Guardian ad Litem database that improves system management and provides reliable information about the state’s Guardian needs.
Appoint Guardians and counsel for parents earlier in the court process.
Require Guardians and social workers statewide to serve and file their reports at least five working days prior to a scheduled hearing so the judge and parties will be better prepared for court.