Researching references to the Adjucatory Hearing

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Marina
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Researching references to the Adjucatory Hearing

Postby Marina » Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:17 pm

Researching references to the Adjucatory Hearing

HHS
Overview Of The Civil Child Protective Court Process

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/userma ... ourtsd.cfm

"The Adjudicatory Hearing

Once pretrial matters have been resolved, the adjudicatory hearing or trial should ideally begin soon after. At this stage of the civil court process, based on the evidence presented at trial, the judge must decide whether the child has been abused or neglected. Each party will question his/her own witnesses; cross-examine opposing witnesses; and may present other evidence in the form of documents, records, photographs, or videotapes. (See also "Types of Evidence" and "Direct, Cross, and Rebuttal Examination.")

The attorney for the party who has filed the petition, usually the CPS agency, must present enough evidence to convince the judge that the abuse or neglect did, in fact, occur. Those in the legal system refer to this responsibility as the burden of proof. In a civil case, depending on the State, this burden is either to show by a preponderance of evidence or by clear and convincing evidence that the abuse or neglect happened (as opposed to a criminal case where the guilt of a given individual must be established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt). (See the section on how much evidence is required in a subsequent chapter in this manual entitled "Proving Child Maltreatment in Court.") To determine whether a party has met his/her burden of proof, the trier of fact will not merely take into account the amount of evidence presented on each side (e.g., how many witnesses), but will also consider the quality of that evidence (e.g., how credible and/or persuasive the witnesses are).

Increasingly, courts (through State law or judicial system rules) are being required to complete these hearings within a given period of time from the filing of the petition or the removal of a child from the home (e.g., 30 days). In some additional States, a judge's written factual determination, known as findings of fact, must also be made within a specific period of time.34 The purpose of these requirements is to avoid case resolution delay that may be harmful to the child.

If the judge finds at the adjudicatory stage that maltreatment was not proven, he/she will dismiss the case. This means that the legal proceedings are terminated. In that situation, the child welfare agency has no leverage from the legal system to continue the case plan; however, the case plan may continue if the parents cooperate voluntarily."

Marina
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WV case - RE: Kyiah P. & Joseph P. - Jan 2003

Postby Marina » Wed Jun 21, 2006 6:53 pm

Last edited by Marina on Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:51 am, edited 2 times in total.

Marina
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Ill case - Kenneth D

Postby Marina » Wed Jun 21, 2006 6:58 pm

Last edited by Marina on Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:51 am, edited 2 times in total.

Marina
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Postby Marina » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:05 pm

Last edited by Marina on Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:52 am, edited 2 times in total.

Marina
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Postby Marina » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:22 pm

Last edited by Marina on Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

Marina
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Role of Psychological Evaluator in Adjucatory Hearing

Postby Marina » Fri Jun 30, 2006 10:13 am

Role of Psychological Evaluator in Adjucatory Hearing

The Role of Mental Health Professionalsin the Prevention and Treatment ofChild Abuse and NeglectMarilyn Strachan PetersonAnthony J. Urquiza1993U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesAdministration for Children and FamiliesAdministration on Children, Youth and FamiliesNational Center on Child Abuse and NeglectThis manual was developed and produced by The Circle, Inc., McLean, VA,
under Contract No. HHS-105-88-1702.

http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/userman ... tlhlth.pdf

EXPERT WITNESS
Mental health professionals may be called to render an opinion or testify as an expert witness in Juvenile,
Family, or Criminal Court. The purpose of the Juvenile or Family Court adjudication hearing is to
determine whether the child needs protection through court-ordered supervision of the family or whether
the child must be removed from the home for a period of time to establish conditions for parental action for
family reunification.

The mental health professional may be asked to testify
either to provide support for social service agency recommendations in the case

or, if the professional has been working with the
parent, support the parent’s objectives
.

This is usually not a jury trial but a hearing conducted by a judge.
Mental health professionals are also called to serve as expert witnesses in criminal trials for the
prosecution or the defense, if felony offenses are charged.

Expert witnesses have the following responsibilities:?to provide objective testimony whether one is testifying for the prosecution or the defense;?to be a scholar in the field or related fields, and be familiar with or have contributed to the
literature in that field;?to be an active or recently active investigator in the field, if testifying on research matters, or
be an active or recently active clinician in the field, if testifying on clinical matters;?to consider the role of expert witness as a minimal part of professional activity and not as a
profession (in other words, the main activities of an expert witness should be those of scholar,
clinician, teacher, or investigator in the field of expertise);?to be aware of the legal and ethical impact of the testimony, and the importance and potential
consequences of the testimony to the people involved in the case;?to be aware of the basic elements of the law and the legal procedures with which the expert
will be involved;?to understand that it is the expert’s job to provide information and/or render an opinion, not to
win or lose the case, and, therefore, avoid becoming consumed with the adversarial
atmosphere of the legal process; and?to obtain all the facts from the attorneys and clients(s) to avoid being surprised by damaging
information later in the legal process.
Last edited by Marina on Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

Marina
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Postby Marina » Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:04 pm

Last edited by Marina on Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

Marina
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Postby Marina » Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:01 pm

Action for Child Protection

monthly article for February 2005

Safety and the Legal Process Part 2:
The Adjudicatory Hearing


http://www.actionchildprotection.org/ar ... le0205.htm

A training guide for CPS workers.

UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!


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