Innovative Practices in Juvenile Court

• Publication year: 2002
• Pages: 51

31 Colo.Law. 51 Colorado Lawyer 2002.

2002, October, Pg. 51. Innovative Practices in Juvenile Court

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51

Vol. 31, No. 10, Pg. 51

The Colorado Lawyer
October 2002
Vol. 31, No. 10 [Page 51]

Children and the Law

Innovative Practices in Juvenile Court
by Tatiana Taylor

Tatiana Taylor is a staff attorney with the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center, where she represents abused and neglected children, foster children, and adoptive parents Her experience includes dependency and neglect, adoption foster care, special education, domestic violence, truancy and mental health. The author thanks the summer interns at the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center for their help in the research and preparation of this article: Tim Eirich, a second-year law student at Loyola University School of Law; Marla Kerr, a third-year law student at University of Colorado School of Law; Shannon O'Connor, a second-year law student at University of Baltimore School of Law; and Amity Strauss, a third-year law student at University of Denver College of Law.

This article highlights some of the innovative practices in the area of juvenile law that are intended to improve the way Colorado courts serve children and families. It is hoped that practitioners and courts will be encouraged by the creativity and strong motivation these innovative practices represent. As T. J. Cole, magistrate for the Twentieth Judicial District, states: "Creativity and collaboration are the keys to obtaining new resources. While money is necessary at some point in the process, do not let it be the primary obstacle. Proceed as best you can without it, have hope, and maybe just maybe, a little magic will occur."

The following programs are highlighted in this article: court facilitators, dependency mediation, electronic filing, family courts, integrated court, law student pro bono representation, year-round education for at-risk youth, truancy mediation, technology-based dependency and neglect court, pro bono representation in domestic violence cases, drug and dependency and neglect courts, and community and agency collaborations. Colorado courts and child-advocacy organizations are urged to continue to develop innovative practices that will promote the well-being of children now and in the future.

Court Facilitators in
Colorado's Twenty-two
Judicial Districts

Since its inception in 1994, the Court Facilitator Program ("Program") has evolved into an instrumental tool for judges and other professionals in dependency and neglect ("D&N") actions. The court facilitator serves many innovative roles, including intermediary, liaison, problem-solver/trouble-shooter, and evaluator. The Program has established an informal arm of the court that meets an individual district's needs. Most facilitators maintain a database of D&N cases, which ensures that the district adheres to statutory timelines. The database also records relevant statistical intervention, such as caseworker turnover, reasons for state intervention, and type of permanent placement. Some districts employ the court facilitator to accommodate the strong need for alternative dispute resolution. In those districts, the court facilitator conducts regular case management conferences or mediation sessions to help parties reach agreements in less adversarial settings.

However used, the court facilitator has proven to be a valuable resource for children, families, and the courts. Recently, the Center for Policy Research analyzed case conferences conducted by court facilitators. The evaluation noted a resolution of some or all of the issues. In addition, the evaluation reported there to be a permanency plan in place more quickly than in cases in which there was no case management conference.

For more information on the Court Facilitator Program, practitioners may contact the court facilitator in their district or Daniel P. Gallagher, Policy Analyst and Court Improvement Project Coordinator, at the Colorado Judicial Department - (303) 861-1111. For more information about the evaluation by the Center for Policy Research, contact Nancy Thoennes at (303) 837-1555.

Dependency Mediation

Beginning in the late 1990s, many alternatives were implemented to reduce the adversarial nature of D&N proceedings. Dependency mediation is one of them. Some of the benefits of dependency mediation include slightly higher compliance with agreements reached, cost avoidance of trials and trial preparation, and avoidance of time delays. Six Judicial Districts use mediation in their D&N cases: First, Second, Fourth, Ninth, Seventeenth, and Twentieth. Unfortunately, because of budget constraints, the Denver Department of Human Services recently eliminated its mediation program.

An example of one successful dependency mediation program is that of the Fourth Judicial District, which began in 1995 under the leadership of Judge Richard Toth. The mediation program has evolved from twelve mediations completed in 1995 to approximately 350 in 1999. An evaluation of mediation in the Fourth Judicial District conducted by the Center for Policy Research revealed that, in approximately 70 percent of the cases sent to mediation, parties resolved all issues involved and, in 20 percent of the cases, parties reached agreement on at least some of the issues.

For more information about the Fourth Judicial District's mediation program, contact Judge Toth at (719) 448-7512. For more information about the Center for Policy Research's evaluation, please contact Nancy Thoennes at (303) 837-1555.

Electronic Filing in
Colorado Courts

Just under ten years ago, an attorney would have had a difficult time finding a court that accepted an electronic filing

("e-Filing"). At that time, only faxed filings were offered. Colorado became the first state to implement statewide e-Filing at the district court level, which is now available in all general jurisdictions in Colorado for civil, domestic relations, probate, and water cases: see www.courts.state.co. us. [For more information on e-Filing, see generally Robertson, "Electronic Filing's First Year in Colorado," 31 The Colorado Lawyer 41 (April 2002); Loftis, "Colorado Statewide Electronic Filing," 29 The Colorado Lawyer 19 (Nov. 2000); Smith, "Electronic Filing in the Colorado Courts," 29 The Colorado Lawyer 37 (April 2000).]

E-Filing prevents an attorney from having to race to the courthouse to file a pleading prior to the usual 5:00 p.m deadline. Instead, attorneys can draft and file pleadings with the court from the convenience of their offices, anytime before midnight of the due date. In addition, e-Filing prevents an...