Working With the Courts for Permanency

Courts play a key role within the child welfare system in achieving permanency for children. Judges, attorneys, child welfare professionals, and others must understand and implement the laws and work together to ensure timely, safe, and stable permanent families for children. Find resources that provide information to help child welfare agencies and courts collaborate to achieve permanency for children.

• Court issues related to youth
• State and local examples

By the Numbers: SBCT Permanency
ZERO to THREE (2018)
Features an infographic that examines ZERO to THREE's Safe Babies Court Team (SBCT) approach to increasing permanency in the child welfare system. The website links to the Safe Babies Court Team implementation guide, which outlines best practices and gives advice on launching the approach. 

Implementing the Older Youth Permanency Provisions of the Strengthening Families Act: The Court's Role
Pokempner (2016)
Child Law Practice Today
American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law 
Discusses the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act and the court's role in overseeing the new provisions of the law that impact youth permanency. The article reviews the goals of the new provisions, how they will work to improve outcomes, how the courts can implement the provisions, and the court's role in policy development.  

Issue Brief: Family First Prevention Services Act (PDF - 260 KB)
National Center for State Courts (2018)
Provides an overview of the Family First Prevention Services Act, which became law in 2018, and highlights court-related provisions, including court improvement grants, improving interstate placements, regional grant partnership grants, judicial trainings, statewide planning to prevent child abuse and neglect fatalities, and court review of group home placements. 

Judicial Tip Sheet: Kin First
Child Law Practice Today (2016)
American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law 
Describes the importance of kin when it comes to permanency for youth in foster care and how kinship caregivers can maintain and preserve family relationships, reinforce a child's sense of identity and culture, and serve as the most suitable permanent home when reunification cannot be achieved. The resource reviews the role of the court in working to identify and locate kin, making kinship placements, engaging kinship caregivers, and more. 

Permanency Barriers Project
American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law
Presents an initiative that helps youth in foster care find permanent and safe homes and assists States in identifying and addressing barriers to permanency.

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Court issues related to youth permanency

Informing the Court: What Permanency Means for Young People
FosterClub (2018)
Shares one of FosterClub's tools, the Permanency Pact, which can be used to support young people in foster care by helping to strengthen connections they may already have. Courts can provide opportunities for the pact to be discussed at different points during case planning and hearings. 

VFA Court Webinar 2: What Works in the Courts
Rideout (2017)
Voice for Adoption 
Outlines steps judges and court professionals can take to help promote permanency for youth. These include promoting positive attitudes toward permanency, ensuring youth participation, limiting group care and supporting family-based placements, and prioritizing well-done permanency planning.

Youth Voices for Permanency: Courtroom Guide on How Courts and Judges Can Make a Difference (PDF - 456 KB) 
Voice for Adoption & The Dave Thomas Foundation (2016) 
Identifies some significant barriers to permanency and presents action steps to help courts and judges ensure timely permanency. 

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