Hearings
This hearing follows an emergent removal of the child or children within two business days.
What is a DODD Hearing/Order to Show Cause?
This is the decision maker during court hearings.
Who is the Judge?
This hearing provides time for an informal discussion between a youth and the judge. Beyond the youth and law guardian, invitees are at the youth's discretion.
What is a Benchmark Hearing?
This plan provides willing resource parents an alternative to adoption without terminating parental rights.
What is Kinship Legal Guardianship?
This is a potential plan for youth ages 16+ who are unlikely to achieve permanency before reaching adulthood.
What is Independent Living?
This hearing happens approximately 12 months after removal to discuss DCP&P’s plan for a child.
What is a Permanency Hearing?
This is the attorney for DCP&P.
Who is the Deputy Attorney General?
This functions as an abbreviated TPR trial for parents who are missing to DCP&P.
What is a Proof Hearing?
This action may be taken by parents to ask a higher court to reconsider a decision to terminate parental rights.
What is an appeal?
This is the presumed or implicit permanency plan until the first Permanency Hearing occurs.
What is Reunification?
This is the document an advocate provides to the court regarding their findings and recommendations.
What is a CASA Court Report?
This is the attorney who represents the child’s wishes.
Who is the Law Guardian?
These two permanency plans, if approved, can trigger a change in DCP&P caseworkers.
What are Termination of Parental Rights and Independent Living?
This is when a parent voluntarily relinquishes their parental rights to a named individual(s).
What is an Identified Surrender?
This is the federal law that specifies key principles and timelines in child welfare court cases.
What is ASFA (Adoption & Safe Families Act)?
This is the document generated during a hearing to specify the judge’s decisions and requirements for each party in the case.
What is a Court Order?
This is the person who represents the child’s best interests.
Who is the CASA?
This is how long before a court hearing that a CASA advocate has to submit their Court Report to their Advocacy Supervisor.
What is 2 weeks?
This is the concept of having “Plan B” with regards to a child’s permanency.
What is Concurrent Planning?
This is how often a Permanency hearing should be held.
What is 12 months?
This is a trial which determines whether the child has been abused and/or neglected.
What is a Fact Finding Hearing?
These two types of participants in court hearings no longer have a seat at the table when the case moves into the FC docket.
Who are parents and their attorneys?
This type of communication with a judge is prohibited because it would not include all parties in the case.
What is ex parte communication?
This form, regarding financial status, must be completed by a parent to acquire representation by a Public Defender.
What is a 5A application?
This plan doesn’t actually sever a parent’s rights. Instead, it only suggests the State’s intention and plan to do so.
What is Termination of Parental rights, followed by Adoption?