Understanding Judicial Decision-Making and Hearing Quality in Child Welfare
Juvenile and family court judges are responsible for deciding when children enter and exit out-of-home care and for ensuring children in the system achieve safety, permanency, and well-being.
While some research has been conducted on hearing quality, questions remain about how to support effective judicial decision-making and improve outcomes for children and families. This project will deepen our understanding of judicial decision-making and hearings during the life of a child welfare case, including factors associated with quality and influences on case planning and outcomes.
The project is divided into three phases:
- Knowledge review, including development of a conceptual model of judicial decision-making and hearing quality and a compendium of measures and data sources
- Study design, including pretesting and feasibility study activities
- Study implementation, including full implementation of the selected research design in a sample of child welfare courts
Research briefs and presentations will be developed throughout each phase to disseminate knowledge and study findings.
Staff
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Anne Fromknecht, M.P.H.
Associate Director
Anne Fromknecht has more than 15 years of experience in applied social science, evaluation, and technical assistance. Her technical skills include project...
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James P. DeSantis, Ph.D.
Vice President
James P. DeSantis is a developmental psychologist with more than 30 years of experience in research, program design, evaluation, technical assistance, and project...
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Tammy Richards, M.Ed.
Senior Research Associate
Tammy Richards has more than 20 years of experience in program evaluation, applied social science research, evaluation training, and technical assistance. Her...
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Joelle Ruben, M.S.W.
Communications Lead
Joelle Ruben has more than 15 years of experience working on child and family issues in a variety of communications, policy, advocacy, and direct service...
Partners
American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law
Dr. Sophia Gatowski and Dr. Alicia Summers, Coprincipal Investigators