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Monday, December 24, 2007

Ind. Courts - Yet more on: Marion County juvenile court orders release of the juvenile court file and the much larger DCS case file in TaJanay Bailey case

Updating four previous ILB entries headed "Marion County juvenile court orders release of the juvenile court file and the much larger DCS case file in TaJanay Bailey case" (dated Dec. 11, 9, 7 an6 6 - see ILB list here), Jon Murray reports today in the Indianapolis Star:

Even before TaJanay's death Nov. 27, juvenile court Judge Marilyn Moores had begun recruiting members for the CHINS Task Force. It will work to improve everything involving Child in Need of Services cases, Moores said, which could include increasing the frequency of state Department of Child Services reports to the court, reducing the time it takes to resolve a case and creating risk-assessment tools for parents and children.

"Our system now is too ponderous, too pokey, too cookie-cutter," said Moores, who presides over the juvenile court. "It's just too slow. Cases stay open too long. We can do better, and we have to do better."
In January, the court will add one docket, or court session, to each magistrate's schedule, which will give them more time to handle each case.

"We've kind of been accused of having the rocket docket," said Cynthia Booth, executive director of Child Advocates, an agency that oversees volunteers appointed to represent the interests of children in child welfare cases. After the change, "there will be more meaningful hearings."

In another step to reform the system, Moores called a meeting earlier this month to discuss communications gaps revealed by TaJanay's death. The meeting produced a new countywide system for notifying police about families involved in the child welfare system and whether they are heading to an address under scrutiny by DCS. * * *

"The system doesn't give us crystal balls," Moores said, "but we have to know that we've done everything we can."

After TaJanay's death, Moores opened up the DCS case file to public scrutiny. She also gave the media copies of the juvenile court's own file.

She could rule this week on The Indianapolis Star's requests for more records and to listen to a recording or see a transcript of the Aug. 30 hearing.

The task force's work is part of a model courts program run by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. There are 31 such courts across the country, all working with the council to improve the way they handle child welfare cases.

In Marion County, Moores and six magistrates handle DCS-initiated cases either full time or part time.
They face full dockets, handling one-quarter of the state's child welfare caseload. Last year, 1,392 abuse or neglect petitions were filed; the average case takes two years to reach closure.

The magistrates rely on DCS reports and ask questions of social services workers who attend court hearings every two or three months.

Booth, one of about 30 task force members, said the magistrates are devoted, despite the heavy caseloads.But the volume can be daunting.

In smaller courts, a judge is more likely to know all the social workers, lawyers and advocates involved in a case, said Leslie Rogers Dunn, who heads the state Guardian Ad Litem/Court Appointed Special Advocate program.

"They may know them on a first-name basis and even have their cell phone number. In fact, they probably know the family before they come into the system. That's the way small towns work."

Moores said the task force will look for ways to make the Marion County court's work with each case more meaningful. Booth is hopeful that the docket change will result in more hearings that start on time, making it easier for more players in a case to attend.

Their input is crucial, Dunn said, because the magistrates rely on their viewpoints to make decisions.
Those decisions are not easy. It's not always obvious whether a parent will care for a child properly once the child is returned.

"A lot of times, we make tough calls," Dunn said. "That's clear about the TaJanay Bailey case."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 24, 2007 10:24 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts