One Family, One Judge, No Continuances

• Author: Corey Shdaimah,Alicia Summers
• Published date: 01 January 2013
• Date: 01 January 2013
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12002

One Family, One Judge, No Continuances

By Alicia Summers and Corey Shdaimah

ABSTRACT

Continuances are a source of delay in juvenile dependency cases that may

increase the length of time a child is in care. The current study builds upon an

emerging body of research examining the effectiveness of the one family, one judge

model in improving case efficiency. The study first examines the expectation that

continuances delay case processing, then examines whether the implementation of a

one family,one judge model of judicial oversight reduces continuances. Results reveal

that continuances delay case events up to the adjudication hearing, but do not delay

time to permanency. Although implementation of the one family, one judge model

did not reduce continuances, there was a relationship between the number of judicial

officers per case and number of continuances. When there is only one judicial officer

per case, the majority of cases have no or only one continuance. Every two judicial

officers added to the case result in one additional continuance. These findings indicate

that judicial continuity can be an effective way to improve case efficiency.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA: P.L. 105-89) set specific time

standards for achieving permanency for children placed in foster care. Prior to ASFA,

children often remained in the foster care system for long periods of time, experiencing

multiple delays that prevented or inhibited permanency (Bishop, Murphy, Jellinek,

Quinn, & Poitrast, 1992). Following ASFA, many courts still struggle to meet timeliness

standards. In a recent review of state Court Improvement Programs (CIPs), most states

reported efforts to improve their timeliness (Planning and Learning Technologies, Urban

Institute, & Center for Policy Research, 2007). Although not specified in the report,

potential barriers to achieving timeliness and efficient case processing could include

continuances.

Alicia Summers, Ph.D., is a Research Associate III at the National Council of Juvenile and Family

Court Judges. Correspondence: asummers@ncjfcj.org

Corey Shdaimah, LL.M., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of

Social Work.

Authors’ Note: The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges wishes to acknowledge

that this material is made possible by Cooperative Agreement No. 2009-MU-MU-K001 from the Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

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Juvenile and Family Court Journal 64, no. 1 (Winter) 35

© 2013 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges