2021 Judicial Conference Program

c. Representation Resource Work Group (formerly the Parent Resource Work Group). This work group addresses court process and quality representation for all parties involved in the child welfare system. The work group is exploring possible initiatives related to pre-petition representation, including the use of federal funding (Title IV-E reimbursement). d. Family First Prevention Services Act Work Group. This work group reviews the court-related provisions of the new federal Family First Prevention Services Act. It assesses implementation needs, including judicial education, revisions to the Rules, and model court orders, and takes steps to address those needs. e. MDROCC. The Maryland Research Online Communication Center (MDROCC), a research and resource compendium for juvenile court judges and magistrates, expanded to include a secure document vault and communication forum for members. In addition, staff Abby Hill and Magistrate Peter Tabatsko (ret.) created a section on MDROCC to provide free, comprehensive COVID-19 resources from multiple sources, including the Children’s Bureau, the National Center for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the National Association of Counsel for Children. f. Reporting, Analysis, and Data (RAD) Team. The RAD Team’s focus is to assist with ensuring the accuracy of child welfare timeliness and performance measure reports. Staff will be working with JIS to implement Education Stability Reporting in MDEC. g. Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). The federal CFSR was completed in Maryland. Subcommittee members and staff participated in the onsite review, stakeholder interviews, and the development of the Program Improvement Plan (PIP). Maryland is midway through the PIP report process. The CFSR permanency data outcomes are trending down. In response to this information, a subset of the subcommittee and staff are working closely with DHS and the Children’s Bureau to identify root causes and solutions. Juvenile Justice Subcommittee The Juvenile Justice Subcommittee focuses on matters related to juvenile delinquency, children in need of supervision, and related matters. Subcommittee activities included: a. Juvenile Forms Work Groups. After determining that current posted forms were outdated, the subcommittee undertook development of forms for delinquency, citation, and juvenile peace order proceedings, working through two work groups. These work groups generally met weekly from March through October. To date the work groups have developed approximately 35 forms addressing all stages of these proceedings including shelter care/detention/community detention, adjudication, disposition, review, competency determinations, waiver and transfer, and show cause. The initial group of forms (addressing juvenile peace order and competency proceedings) have been approved by the subcommittee and are receiving shareholder review. b. Juvenile Court Survey. The subcommittee provided direction and guidance for the survey of the juvenile court bench undertaken by subcommittee staff to learn their views on a number of issues in juvenile justice. The concern raised most widely was the lack of in-jurisdiction services and/or placements. This concern was raised across jurisdictions and repeated in responses to questions addressing all phases of a juvenile case, from diversion to post-disposition. A second widely repeated concern – the need for substance abuse or mental health treatment services – also was repeated across jurisdictions and in responses addressing all phases of a juvenile case. The final report was presented to the subcommittee and the state court administrator. Because of the changes to Department of Juvenile Services programs and practices in response to the coronavirus, further discussion of implementation of the report has been suspended. c. C.A.N.D.O. The subcommittee began the work of planning delinquency sessions for C.A.N.D.O. 2020, including a session on implicit bias based on the benchcard developed by the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Juvenile Defender Center. With the cancellation of the conference, work on those sessions have been suspended. d. Juvenile F acilities P rogram. The subcommittee continued to provide direction and guidance for this Judicial College program. With the cancellation of Judicial Colleges in 2020, work on those sessions has been suspended. The course will be offered in 2022.

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