Toolkit for Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases

"The Toolkit for Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases provides practical and comprehensive guidance on how dependency courts can institute a system of performance measurement and create more efficient and effective operations. The result of a collaborative, broad-based effort between the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services and OJJDP, the Toolkit provides practical, comprehensive guidance on how to undertake performance measurement to improve child and family outcomes of safety, permanence, and well-being and move toward more efficient and effective dependency court operations. Three leading court reform organizations—the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges—provided technical support, and 12 pilot sites in which the Toolkit was tested also provided critical feedback and input. The Toolkit is designed to help courts:

* Establish their baseline of current practices.
* Diagnose what areas of service delivery they need to improve.
* Make improvements to their operations.
* Track their efforts.
* Identify, document, and replicate positive results.

This publication is divided into five volumes:

Key Measures (NCJ 223567). This 44-page booklet outlines nine measures that OJJDP, the Children's Bureau, and their national partners have identified as key to determining court performance in child abuse and neglect cases. The booklet discusses the goal of each measure, data requirements, calculation and interpretation, and important related measures.

Implementation Guide (NCJ 223568). This 76-page guide provides practical advice on how to set up a performance measurement team, assess court capacity, collect data, and use the data to plan reforms.

User's Guide to Nonautomated Data Collection (NCJ 223569). This 48-page guide provides instructions on how to use instruments to measure court performance. Each chapter is devoted to a specific instrument and describes the purpose of the instrument, provides tips on how to use it, and explains how the data can be used to assess court performance on a national level.

Technical Guide (NCJ 223570). This comprehensive 310-page volume describes all 30 court performance measures for child abuse and neglect cases.

Guide to Judicial Workload Assessment (NCJ 223571). This 72-page guide is designed to help courts establish their baseline practices; diagnose what they need to improve; and use that information to make improvements, track their efforts, and identify, document, and replicate positive results.

This publication series may be ordered in its entirety or as individual publications."

Click the title link to be taken to the ordering page. I have provided you with the links to the abstracts and pdf's below.


Toolkit Offers Guidance for Developing and Implementing Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases



Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Technical Guide
Abstract | PDF |
Describes all 30 court performance measures for child abuse and neglect cases and explains the goals and purpose of each measure. (310 pages)

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Implementation Guide
Abstract | PDF |
Provides practical advice on how to set up a performance measurement team, assess capacity, prioritize among measurement needs, and plan data collection activities. (76 pages)

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: User's Guide to Nonautomated Data Collection
Abstract | PDF |
Explains how to use nonautomated data collection methods to enhance performance measurement. (48 pages)

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Guide to Judicial Workload Assessment
Abstract | PDF |
Presents a method for obtaining data on judicial workloads in abuse and neglect cases, including an assessment of what is required for best practice in these cases. (72 pages)

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Key Measures
Abstract | PDF |
Outlines nine measures that have been identified as key to determining court performance in child abuse and neglect cases. (44 pages)