The Enhanced Resource Guidelines: A Blueprint For Improving Court Practice In Child Welfare Cases

Abstract

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (“NCJFCJ”) provides training and technical assistance to juvenile and family courts across the country. Since 1995, the NCJFCJ has worked to improve the lives of children and families in child abuse and neglect cases with the Model Courts and Implementation Sites projects using the Enhanced Resource Guidelines as a foundation. This article describes the history and evolution of the Enhanced Resource Guidelines, identifies key principles and practices implemented by demonstration sites, shares lessons learned from judges leading reform efforts, and highlights preliminary results from research and evaluation efforts. Research has indicated that implementation of the Enhanced Resource Guidelines is associated with increased judicial continuity throughout the case, increased engagement of families during hearings, decreased time to permanency, and fewer out of home placements for children. Judicial leaders can make improvements on and off the bench by improving the quality of their hearings and practice as recommended in the Enhanced Resource Guidelines.