<p> 1</p><p>Interview Guide for Youth Services Officers/Case Managers (4/8/04)</p><p>Begin with purpose of focus group, taping and note taking, ground rules regarding privacy and confidentiality of information, and introductions (education, experience, how long in position, etc.) </p><p>Organizational Issues: Duties, Caseload, Use of Time, Training, JCIS, etc.</p><p>1. What are the responsibilities of your position? --What percentage of time is spent on your major duties? (Get time in court.) --Where are you spending too much time that could be used for something else?</p><p>2. How are cases assigned? What is the average caseload size?</p><p>3. How much of your staff time is devoted to child abuse and neglect proceedings? How does this compare to your other cases?</p><p>4. What’s the hardest part of your job? --What needs to be improved? --How could that be improved?</p><p>5. In general, how much interaction do you have with the judge/referee, child, parents, DCS case manager or attorney, GAL, CASA or others involved in a foster care case?</p><p>6. How much training have you had? --What training are you getting? --What do you still need?</p><p>7. What are the major problems/issues facing your community that affect the types of cases coming before your Court?</p><p>8. Is the Court being run efficiently for the use of everyone’s time? --What needs to be improved? --How could that be improved? 2</p><p>Quality of Proceedings: Completeness and Depth of Hearings—Court Process</p><p>I’d like to get a sense of how your court process works. For D/N cases: 1. When someone comes to court alleging child abuse/neglect, what happens? </p><p>2. When a petition is filed by DCS or a private party alleging abuse, what happens?</p><p>3. When is the preliminary hearing held? --Is another hearing scheduled at the preliminary hearing (or closer to when it’s going to happen)?</p><p>4. When a private party files a dependency petition, what happens next?</p><p>5. Are pre-trial settlement conferences held? (Probe: For what cases, what happens then?)</p><p>6. When does the adjudication hearing occur? --Approximately how many of your cases are settled rather than tried at the adjudication? --If there is a trial, how is it scheduled? (days in row, spread out, ?) --If there is a trial, are the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings held at the same time? If not, when is the disposition hearing scheduled?</p><p>7. When does the court ratify the permanency plan? --Is there a hearing or does the court sign it? Who usually attends? --If parties disagree, is testimony taken?</p><p>8. When are permanency hearings scheduled? Who attends? --If parties disagree, is testimony taken?</p><p>9. Who hears TPR cases? How are they scheduled? --Once there is a TPR, does the court or FCRB continue to review the case until the adoption? </p><p>10. How are surrenders handled? </p><p>3</p><p>11. How does the court work to ensure that court findings and orders are filed?</p><p>12. How does the court monitor compliance with court orders? --DCS compliance (delivery of services) --Parents’ compliance --Child’s compliance, if applicable</p><p>For Del. cases: 1. When someone comes to court alleging a child has committed a delinquent offense, what happens?</p><p>2. When a delinquent petition is filed, what happens?</p><p>3. If a child is arrested, when is the detention hearing held? --Is another hearing scheduled at the detention hearing (or closer to when it’s going to happen?)</p><p>4. What usually happens in the rest of the delinquency case?</p><p>Now let’s talk about the Foster Care Review Board.</p><p>13. How are FCRB hearings scheduled? --Do you attend the FCRB on your cases? --Does the FCRB schedule the next review (at the current review?) --Does FCRB make direct referrals to the court? How does that get on the court’s docket?</p><p>14. What is your impression of FCRB—do they help or hinder? --How could it be improved?</p><p>15. Does the Court review cases instead of the FCRB? Which cases? How often? Which referees? --Is this effective? How could it be improved? </p><p>16. Can you explain what these findings are and when they have to be made? a. Contrary to the welfare of the child</p><p> b. Reasonable efforts to prevent removal 4</p><p> c. Reasonable efforts to reunify the family</p><p> d. Reasonable efforts for another permanent placement</p><p>17. Can you describe the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its requirements? </p><p>Quality of Proceedings: Sufficiency and Timeliness of Notice to Parties</p><p>1. What is the court procedure for notification of parties? --Who does the court include (e.g., putative fathers when appropriate)?</p><p>2. Who does the court attempt to have present at hearings, including the earliest ones? (Probe: Children at what age, non-custodial parents, foster and pre-adoptive parents, etc.)</p><p>3. Who usually participates in the hearings? How do they participate? --Are there any groups you find difficult to have participate in the hearings? --How often do children attend, and at what age? Do younger children testify? --Does the judge talk to the children or ask them questions?</p><p>4. What is the court procedure for filing of required reports and permanency plans? --Are there any internal rules about this? --Are they distributed prior to hearings, and how? --How does the court do this in a timely manner?</p><p>Quality of Proceedings: Legal Representation of Parties</p><p>1. In DCS cases, what is the court procedure for appointing legal representation for children, custodial parents and non-custodial parents? </p><p> b. What is the procedure for appointing CASA for children? --How often and at what stages are CASA usually appointed?</p><p> c. How often and at what stages do children, custodial parents and non-custodial parents have legal counsel in the court cases you have been involved with? (Probe for percentage of parties represented and how practice may differ from policy.) 5</p><p>2. In cases filed by private parties, what is the court procedure for appointing legal representation for children, custodial parents and non-custodial parents? </p><p> b. What is the procedure for appointing CASA for children? --How often and at what stages are CASA usually appointed?</p><p> c. How often and at what stages do children, custodial parents and non-custodial parents have legal counsel in the court cases you have been involved with? (Probe for percentage of parties represented and how practice may differ from policy.)</p><p>3. How well does representation by guardians ad litem work in your cases? --What has worked well, and what needs improvement? Probes: --How prepared are they? --Are they actively involved? Do they present evidence? --Do they stay on the case throughout the entire case? --Is there separate legal representation of both parents when there’s a conflict of interest?</p><p>4. How well does representation by parents’ attorneys work in your cases? --What has worked well, and what needs improvement? Probes: --How prepared are they? --Are they actively involved? Do they present evidence? --Do they stay on the case throughout the entire case? --Is there separate legal representation of both parents when there’s a conflict of interest?</p><p>5. What is the relationship between GALs and CASA? How well do they work together?</p><p>Quality of Proceedings: Efficiency and Timeliness of Decision-making</p><p>1. How does your court work to handle required hearings and actions in cases in a timely manner? </p><p>2. What causes continuances or delays in foster care cases? Has the court been able to do anything about them to improve? 6</p><p>Quality and Treatment of Parties</p><p>1. What are the major agencies you work with and how do you coordinate with them? --DCS (case manager and attorney) --CASA --Schools --Law enforcement --District Attorney --Public defender --Mental health --Others?</p><p>2. Are courtroom facilities sufficient for children and families?</p><p>3. Are you familiar with the pamphlet and video on parents’ rights? --Do you have a procedure for providing the pamphlet? When is it provided? --Do you have a procedure for parents to view the video? What is it?</p><p>4. Is the Court using mediation in your cases? When? --How’s it working compared to the current adversarial system?</p><p>Wrap-Up Questions </p><p>1. What are the greatest barriers you face in placing children in permanent settings within a reasonable amount of time?</p><p>2. What changes (in the law, resources, rules, or procedures) would help you address this issue more effectively?</p><p>3. Overall, how would you describe your working experience with DCS? --What has been your BEST experience with DCS? --What has been your WORST experience with DCS? --How could DCS improve how it works with youth in foster care?</p><p>3. Do you have any other comments or suggestions about the handling of foster care cases that you would like to share? 7</p>