At the time the State removes a child a number of legal processes take hold. In Pima County, we follow Model Court procedures. The Model Court procedures were created in 1997 after studies showed that Pima county Juvenile Court cases were not working their way through the court in a timely and effective manner. Cases were taking an average of 3.2 years to get through the system; furthermore, families were spending up to 90 days in limbo before serious reunification efforts were put into place. As a result, during this initial period, minimal services were in place, minimal visitation was provided, and the family was deteriorating rather than healing.

These delays were not unique to Pima County. Indeed, they were endemic throughout the country.⁽¹⁾ With the help of some very decisive action by Nanette Warner, Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court at that time, Pima County was designated one of thirteen model courts nationally. Pima County began to experiment with procedures designed to streamline the process. The entire Child Protection Community was engaged and the result was what we call the Model Court procedures. Procedures included attempting to engage all the parties in a cooperative effort at reunification at the earliest possible time; implementing more training and accountability to the court and for the attorneys and parties; and revising the calendaring system to help alleviate court congestion. After an initial period of limited experimentation, the procedures have been adopted for all cases.

The key to the model court process is to engage all the participants in a cooperative effort to support the family at the earliest possible time. Attorneys are assigned to both the parents and the children in advance. Within seven days of the child's removal--even before legal process is served and the dependency petition is filed with the court, a 45 minute meeting (Pre-hearing Conference) is scheduled back to back with an initial 45 minute hearing (Preliminary Protective Hearing[PPH]). The PPH also serves as a mandatory temporary custody hearing if necessary.⁽²⁾ The parents are given information about the process in the form of a document called the temporary custody notice (tcn). CPS puts together an initial proposed case plan before anyone even gets to court.
 

Model court notification process
The Juvenile Court sets aside prescheduled times called Model Court Blocks for the Pre-hearing Conference and the Preliminary Protective Hearing⁽³⁾. Attorneys are pre-assigned to represent the parents and children for each Model Court Block. The times available for prescheduled blocks are made known to CPS intake workers.

When the child is removed, the worker must request the Attorney General's Office to file a dependency petition with the Court within 72 hours. At the same time as the request, the parent is given the temporary custody notice with the prescheduled time for the Model Court Block. The worker must then telephone a "case intake" to the Calendar Office of the Juvenile Court.

The Calendar Office will assign the case to a Model Court Block and assign the attorneys to the case. The calendar office will notify the attorneys of their assignments both by phone and by delivery of a notification form to their boxes at the Juvenile Court.⁽⁴⁾ The notice form given to the lawyers will contain the name and address of their clients; the client's telephone, if any; the names of the other lawyers, parties and case manager. The parents will not be given the location of the child. ⁽⁵⁾

Prior to the Model Court Block, an ex-parte petition will be filed with the Court. The petition will actually be faxed to the court even before it is filed to help expedite the process. The petition will include an application for temporary court orders which must include a ratification of the removal of the child. A copy of a sample petition and temporary orders are included in the Appendix.

Attorneys, including the attorney for the child will meet with their client before the model court block. Attorneys for children should meet with the placement as well. At the same time, the CPS worker should reconfirm the court date with the parent and arrange for transportation as well. In addition, the CPS worker should arrange at least one visit with the child between the time of removal and the court date. The parents should be encouraged to bring not only themselves, but also supportive friends to the Pre-hearing Conference and the PPH.
 

What happens at the Pre-hearing Conference and at the PPH?
The Model Court Block is designed to deal with four matters: 1) short term placement of the child; 2) visitation if the child will not be returned immediately; 3) the initial case plan; and 4) whether or not the petition is going to be initially contested.

The first part of the block (Pre-hearing Conference) consists of an off-the-record group discussion to identify the issues and to see if there is agreement on any aspects of the case--whether that be placement, visitation, case plan issues, or adjudication issues. The remaining 45 minutes (PPH) can be used for a temporary custody hearing or for the court to resolve other disputed preliminary matters if necessary.

The Pre-hearing Conference is usually facilitated by someone from the Juvenile Court staff. Almost any affected person can participate--whether or not they are actual parties. As a result, this group meeting can and will have representatives from CPS, service providers, the Attorney General's Office, and the parties and their attorneys. Furthermore, potential placements, teachers, grandparents, therapists and doctors, other relatives, and supportive friends may appear. The presence of a large number of diverse interests is designed to open up a free flowing discussion of the best interests of the child. However, the openness of the discussion has the potential to create distractions and/or to undermine confidentiality.
 

The Pre-hearing Conference
Parties are asked to appear at least 15 minutes in advance to discuss issues. The Pre-hearing Conference is convened in a room large enough to accommodate all who are present. The Court staff will provide an overview and introduce the participants to each other. If a translator is necessary, the facilitator will make sure one is available. The Judge is not present for the Pre-hearing Conference. The parties are directed to discuss the placement, visitation, and the case plan. The parties are encouraged to have their say in an open dialogue. The parties are reminded to try to act in and to consider the best interests of the child. Generally, the parties are directed not to discuss the allegations in the petition. That part is reserved for a later time and place.

In most instances, the parties will be presented with an investigatory report and preliminary case plan prepared in advance by CPS. In addition, the Agency will make recommendations for the immediate and long-term placement of the child. The Agency might also make settlement recommendations to see if the parties can agree on an adjudication either creating a dependency or dismissing the petition. Often the latter discussion consists of seeing if there is some language creating a dependency to which the parents can agree. In many respects it becomes a face-saving discussion for the parents.

After discussing the temporary placement of the child and visitation, the proposed case plan is reviewed. The parties discuss and try to identify points of agreement. Some issues can be negotiated successfully--others will not.

When the conference is completed, the parties are moved into the courtroom. The Judge will be given a short report by the Model Court facilitator. The Judge can then ratify the points of agreement. The Judge can rule on the areas of disagreement after hearing brief argument. The Judge can also hold temporary custody hearing if the parties cannot agree on return of the child.

The judge will also deal with a number of what might be termed routine items. The parents and child's attorney (on behalf of the child) will be formally served with the petition unless that has been previously accomplished. The parents will fill out a financial affidavit for the Court to see if they are eligible to continue with court appointed counsel. The Court may attempt to identify non-custodial parents or to deal with issues of establishing paternity for children born out of wedlock.

The Court will also set further hearings. In most instances, there will not have been discussion of whether or not the allegations in the petition are true. That is left for the adjudicatory phase of the proceeding. The Court may set a trial date or, more likely, the court will set a settlement conference to be held within the next 30 days for the express purpose of seeing if there is common ground to settle the matter without a formal trial. Cases that appear amenable to a successful mediation may be referred to the court mediator for possible resolution. The dependency will then proceed to the adjudicatory phase.

¹See Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 1996. A copy is available in the Clinic Library.

² This new process is considerably more productive than the old way of proceeding. Prior to the model court, the child would be removed. Within 5 days a petition would be filed. The parent would be served and a hearing would be held within 21 days. If the parent wanted an attorney, the process could be delayed a week or two further. By the time the court took a substantive look at the case or the parent requested a temporary custody hearing the child may have been away from home for over a month.

³ As contract attorneys, the Clinic is notified every three months of the days that we are potentially "on call" for a model Court block. Hearings are held Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:30 and 10:15 am. We will know in advance the dates and times of our model court hearings and can plan accordingly.

⁴ Each contract attorney (including the Child Advocacy Clinic) has an open cubbyhole or box at the courthouse (on the far west end of the building right inside the reception area for the calendar office). The mailboxes are used by the court to deliver documents and notices. We often use those boxes to communicate with other counsel as well - although be mindful that placing a document in an attorney's courthouse mailbox is NOT sufficient for service of process.

⁵ It is standard practice NOT to tell parents where their child has been taken for temporary placement. This may seem cruel at first -- and in some ways, it is. However, experience with too many irate or intoxicated parents coming to the placement and creating incidents which are not healthy for the child or the child's placement. Too many foster care homes or facilities will only take children if they can be insulated from the parents. As a result, the names and locations of placements are almost NEVER mentioned in front of the parents or on the court record. The term "foster placement" or "foster parent" is used. Obviously when there is a relative placement known to a parent the same precautions may not apply.
 

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