State Child Welfare Policy Guide: Part of the Policy Matters Series

5.2 Streamline court processes

Court delays   can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to get adopted when return home is not possible.  Many actions can be taken to improve court performance and strengthen court and child welfare relationships.  For more information on these, see Policy Area 12.

In the area of adoption, court related days can create significant barriers.  In a 2004 survey of state child welfare agencies, several states highlighted court related barriers to foster care adoption, including:

·         48 states reported significant barriers to conducting TPR proceedings

·         43 states reported barriers in court case management, including continuances, crowded dockets, difficulty scheduling hearings and lack of communication

·         30 states reported barriers around conducting proceedings when a child’s birth parents appeal the termination of parental rights [i]   

Policymakers can hold courts and child welfare agencies accountable for ensuring that families have timely and substantive court hearings, and that court delays do not stand in the way of achieving adoption goals.

New York’s Permanency Legislation requires a permanency hearing to be held within 8 months of a child’s placement in foster care (rather than 12 months) and every six months thereafter.  It also specifies the contents of the permanency hearing reports to the court and requires the child welfare agency to provide the reports to the court and all attorneys at least 14 days before the hearing.  The permanency legislation also provides for continuous court jurisdiction from child protection through foster care and adoption so that a child’s case is not heard in different courts.  The permanency legislation contains many other procedural changes aimed at reducing bureaucratic delays within the courts. [ii]

Georgia and Tennessee laws have been enacted to tighten the timeframe for completing termination of parental rights.  Georgia law requires hearings to terminate parental rights to be held 90 days from when the petition is filed. [iii]   Tennessee statute requires that the TPR hearing be held within 6 months of the petition. [iv]  

Policy Options:   States can help to reduce court barriers to adoption by adopting policies that streamline court processes, including:

·         Require more frequent court hearings to establish permanency goals

·         Tighten timeframes for termination of parental rights

·         Ensure appeals processes do not unduly delay adoptions

·         Provides for continuous court jurisdiction for children through the adoption process