Training Tool Does More than Meet Federal Mandate
A federal mandate requires specialized training for lawyers representing abused and neglected children, if the state is to continue to receive $950,000 dollars a year for related services. The state Supreme Court’s Office of Children and Families in the Courts responded with a first-of-its-kind training DVD.
“Even though it started out to particularly meet a federal mandate, it really turned into a lot more,” says Butler County Judge Kelley Streib, who co-chaired the panel that helped create the new training tool for guardians ad litem.
The video includes all of the relevant laws and procedures, but we asked Judge Streib to explain what really stands out in her mind:JudgeStreib
“No longer is it acceptable to have children languishing for years in the dependency system,” Streib explains. That’s been a major focus of both the state courts and Department of Public Welfare in recent years. Since 2006, the number of dependent children in temporary foster care has been reduced by 33%.
