Court Report Writing Volunteer Training Alexandra Devereaux Learning

Court Report Writing Volunteer Training Alexandra Devereaux

Learning Outcomes • You will…. • Understand the importance of CASA court reports in dependency & neglect cases • Truancy and Legacy reports • Know the timeline and process for completing a court report • Understand that your case coordinator will collaborate with you throughout the court report writing process. • Know what is included in the court report writing template • Understand what it means to appear in court to provide a verbal update. New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

What is a court report? • • A collection of your observations and independent recommendations An accounting of the time you have spent getting to know the child(ren) An opportunity for the Judge to better understand the children for whom that they are making life-changing decisions Written for most hearings that are more than 30 days apart • Typically every 60 -90 days New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Write from an honest and objective view • • • Be thorough and specific No opinions and judgements • Check your implicit bias Report the facts Information should be based on the safety and wellbeing of the child, not on personal likes or dislikes Do not assume the reader knows the information you know New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Court Report Writing Timeline 3 weeks before the hearing Reminder from your coordinator to start writing The week following your reminder 2 weeks before the hearing 1 week before the hearing First draft is written Report is given to your coordinator to be edited* by them and another coordinator The week leading up to Court Report is submitted to court by your coordinator Day of Hearing Prepare verbal update with your coordinator Attend, if possible *What is involved in/considered “editing” will be discussed in the following slides New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

What does it mean to “edit” your report? • • • Grammatical errors Adding in more detail Condensing information or making sections more concise Objectivity CASA-specific nuances • Appears to/seems to • Mother and father vs. mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. • Avoiding confidential/sensitive information • Given that…. , [verb]…. New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Using Optima to write reports • Review your contact logs for • Dates and times • Details • Activities and visits • What the kids said and did on our visits • Interactions with caregivers/providers as a CASA • Communication with the team • Documented in contact logs • Documents • Court reports, Caseworker Reports, Court Notes New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Took Sara and Jaxon to the library to read some books. Sara was very quiet and did not talk much, she seemed tired and was rubbing her eyes. I asked how she was feeling and she said she stayed up all night watching TV. Sara reported that school was going better and that there was no teasing from the other students in the last week. She had a test in math and did okay. Jaxon was happy and sat with me and we read books together. He said that he really likes books about trucks and could identify the letter J when he saw it. Both said the placement was going well, but they wanted to be home with mom as soon as possible. How would you turn this contact log into a sentence for a report? • Things to include: • Date • Who the information came from • What was said • Facts, not opinions New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Examples • • Given that Sara has reported on numerous occasions that she has stayed up all night watching television, I recommend the team work to create a more structured bedtime routine. • In development section- “I observed that Sara appeared tired and quiet on _____(date) and again on ______ and ______. She reported on ____ that she stayed up all night watching television and I have observed that she does not appear to have a bedtime routine. ” In Jaxon’s development section- “I have observed that Jaxon appears to enjoy playing with trucks and books. I have also observed that he can identify the letter ‘J’. On _____ we went on an outing to the library to read books, and it appears as though he can focus and sit still long enough to enjoy an ageappropriate book. ” New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

We stopped at Mc Donald's because they seemed to be very hungry after school. We went to Civic Center Park and had a picnic while we discussed how our day went individually. As Jaxon told me his events for the day he mentioned that his mother came to the school for a visit, and sat in his class to observe his day. Sara said she doesn't like the food served in the foster home because it makes her stomach hurt. Try this contact log. • Things to include: • Date • Who the information came from • What was said • Facts, not opinions New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Examples • • I am concerned that Jaxon reported seeing Ms. Brown at his school on _____(date), despite there being a mandatory protection order in place. Given that Jaxon reported seeing Ms. Brown at his school on _____(date) despite the mandatory protection order that is in place, ensure that school staff are aware of and following the protection orders. • In interactions w/ mom section- “On ____ Jaxon reported seeing his mom at his school. He didn’t appear to have a strong emotional response to this one way or the other, but this violates the mandatory protection order in place. ” Given that Sara reports that the food in her foster home hurts her stomach, consider a medical appointment to discuss food sensitivities or allergies. I am concerned that Sara reports that the food in her foster home makes her stomach hurt, and that she appears to be somewhat underweight for her age and height. • In Sara’s development section- “On _____ Sara reported to me that she does not like the food served in her foster home because it makes her stomach hurt. I have observed that she has said this on numerous occasions, and that she appears to be somewhat underweight for her age and height. New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Sections In A Court Report • • • • Recommendations Concerns Placement Information ICWA Eligibility Sibling Visits Permanency Health and Development Therapy Support Systems Interactions with Parents Child’s Wishes Educational Advocacy Youth Advocacy Parent’s Involvement/Interactions New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Let’s practice editing • • • Work in groups of two Each group will have a section of the report Review the “Questions to Consider” and “Tips and Tricks” Edit your assigned section, watching for: • Grammatical errors • Where you need more detail or background information • Condensing information or making sections more concise • Objectivity • CASA-specific nuances • Appears to/seems to • Mother and father vs. mom and dad, Mr. and Mrs. • Avoiding confidential/sensitive information Present to the class: • The value this section adds to the overall report • Summarize what changes you made, choose a couple examples • Any obstacles or unexpected observations New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Recommendations and Concerns New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Starting your report • While building rapport and getting to know the children keep track of your observations and document them in the contact log in Optima. You’ll be so glad you did!! Examples…. . • Interactions in the home setting • Interactions outside of home • How they relate to you as a CASA • How they are dressed (i. e. hygiene & fit) • Conditions of the home environment • How they handle emotions and react • What they say in conversation and direct questions • What they like and don’t like • Level of independence in the community (ordering food etc. ) New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Formatting • • • Please use Word, not Google docs, Pages or any other word processing program Please track all of the changes you make in a different font color You do not need to worry about making any changes to the template format New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Using the template • • More information is better than less. It can always be edited out or revised. Coordinator will assist with the wording, just get it in the report so they can edit with you. Take out the prompts as you go. Delete sections (e. g. sibling visits and therapy) that don’t pertain to the child. New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Confidentiality • • • Do not include names of minors that are not on the petition Do not include names of • Schools • Places of work • Teachers, Doctors, Therapists, etc. Do not include any addresses ** We don’t want you to be responsible for inadvertently sharing confidential information New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Verbal Updates • • • Judge likes to hear directly from the CASA If there are main points in your report you want discussed, that needs to happen in court You can answer questions that may come up about the kids, case, your report, that nobody else may be able to answer We are truly the voice of the child and we are one of the professional team members Preparing your update: • Your case coordinator will work with you on your verbal update form and how will add to the information in your report. • Tends to be very brief. • If you are in court, be prepared to go on the record • If you cannot be there, the verbal update will be given to whoever is covering court that day New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Sharing What the Child Wants • • Listen to your kids about what they want Explain how their wishes can be communicated • To the team (caseworker & GAL) • Volunteer can do it for them OR • When appropriate, let the child/youth speak for themselves-empower them to use their voice and decide how they want information communicated • To the Judge • The kids have a right to talk to the Judge or Magistrate • Tell the GAL and a meeting with the Court can be scheduled • The caseworker, GAL and CASA can all be present for the meeting • Mentors should stay in contact with professionals to determine whether their participation in a meeting is appropriate What if you don’t agree with their wishes? New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Truancy & DANSR Cases • • Truancy • Formatted similarly, but have less detail • Submitted every 30 days because hearings are every month • Focus on educational progress, but also include the family dynamics and child’s development DANSR • Dependency and Neglect System Reform • Cases that have only substance use and co-occurring mental health concerns • Very collaborative approach- staffings, same professional teams, putting services in place quickly • Submitted every 30 days because hearings are every month • Same format, but less detail because of the frequency New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Key points to remember • • • Court Report is a process that takes some time Your case coordinator is your partner from start to finish It takes time to learn the skills This is one way you are voice for the child(ren) in the system Court Reports do get distributed to parents and are a part of the case file New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Who gets your Court Report? • Parents • County Attorney (and their paralegal) • Caseworker • Guardian ad Litem • Respondent Parent Counsel • Presiding Judge or Magistrate New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Learning Outcomes • Do you…. • Understand the importance of CASA court reports in dependency & neglect cases? • Know the timeline and process for completing a court report? • Understand that your case coordinator will collaborate with you throughout the court report writing process? • Know what is included in the court report writing template? • Understand what it means to appear in court to provide a verbal update? New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing

Take a quick field trip into Katie’s office to see the map. New Volunteer Training Court Report Writing