October 2005Vol. 6, No. 8Resources for States and Their Court Systems
The National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues (NCWRCLJI) provides numerous resources on its website to help State courts work to improve the lives of children and families in the child welfare system. Website materials include:
- Publications on a variety of topics, including Federal legislation, legal ethics, improving outcomes for adolescents aging out of foster care, and educational advocacy
- Items specific to States' Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs)
- Publications for judges and attorneys involved in child maltreatment cases
- Materials designed to facilitate a good working relationship between child welfare and court personnel
- Links to other Children's Bureau Resource Centers as well as other child welfare advocacy groups
The website also lists the many trainings that NCWRCLJI staff and consultants provide (www.abanet.org/child/rclji/training.html) and offers registered users the opportunity to subscribe to three listservs (Child-court, Child-case, and Child-education) managed by NCWRCLJI staff at www.abanet.org/child/rclji/listserv.html.
In addition, the NCWRCLJI website provides a special section devoted to materials developed by State Court Improvement Projects (CIPs), including information on promising practices and model court programs. The National Court Improvement Progress Report and Catalog, accessed at www.abanet.org/child/cipcatalog/home.html, allows users to search for materials by State or by topic. Some of the 16 topics include:
- Legal representation of parties
- Timeliness of decisions
- Alternative dispute resolution
- Court staffing
- Technology
- Community collaboration
- Evaluation
- Funding issues
For more information on the NCWRCLJI and its resources, visit http://www.americanbar.org/groups/child_law/what_we_do/projects/rclji.html.