PROPOSED DRAFT

ROANOKE CITY
JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT
CHILD DEPENDENCY PROTOCOL FOR
ENGAGING YOUTH IN COURT

VISION: To provide children, in child dependency cases, resilience driven, trauma

informed, age appropriate, participation in court hearings where future planning is
involved.
GOALS:
1. To create guidelines to ensure clear and consistent expectations for children’s
involvement in court hearings.

2. To provide children safe and meaningful participation in court hearings.

3. To ensure the paramount focus of the hearing is the best interests of the child.

Age Brackets for Purposes of this Protocol

Ages 0-4
Ages 5-8
Ages 9-11
Ages 12-17
Ages 18-21
When Should Children Be in Court?
Preliminary Removal Hearing (5 Day Hearing): Given time constraints, high emotions,
possible conflict, and/or re-traumatization shortly after removal, no age bracket will be
offered the opportunity to participate in this hearing.
Adjudicatory Hearing:
Ages 0-4 and 5-8 will not be offered the opportunity to participate unless there are
exceptional circumstances.
Ages 9-11 and 12-17 may be offered the opportunity to participate, subject to exceptions
set forth later in this document.
Dispositional Hearing:
Ages 0-4 and 5-8 need to be connected with a mental health clinician before making a
determination if the child should participate in the hearing along with input from the
clinician.
Ages 9-11 and 12-17 should be offered the opportunity to participate, subject to
exceptions set forth later in this document.
Foster Care Review Hearing:
Ages 0-4 and 5-8 need to be connected with a mental health clinician before making a
determination if the child should participate in the hearing along with input from the
clinician.
Ages 9-11 and 12-17 should be offered the opportunity to participate, subject to
exceptions set forth later in this document.
Permanency Planning Hearing/Termination of Parental Rights:
Ages 0-4 and 5-8 need to be connected with a mental health clinician before making a
determination if the child should participate in the hearing along with input from the
clinician.
Ages 9-11 and 12-17 should be offered the opportunity to participate, subject to
exceptions set forth later in this document.
Fostering Futures Hearing:
Child is expected to participate in the hearing.
Post TPR/Annual/Semi-annual Foster Care Review Hearings:
Ages 0-4 and 5-8 need to be connected with a mental health clinician before making a
determination if the child should participate in the hearing along with input from the
clinician.
Ages 9-11 and 12-17 should be offered the opportunity to participate, subject to
exceptions set forth later in this document.
When Should a Child Be Excused from Court?
1. When the child’s therapist, after collaboration with the other professionals in the
case, recommends the child not be present in the court.

2. When the child is currently in an acute hospital setting or has recently been
discharged from an acute hospitalization.
3. When the child’s Guardian ad litem reasonably believes the court appearance
may likely cause trauma to the child.

4. When the child has been sexually or severely physically abused by one of the
parents.

5. When criminal charges are being investigated or are pending against the parent,
or the parent has been convicted of a crime where the child is the victim.

6. When there is a court order prohibiting any contact between a parent and the
child.

7. When the hearing involves the adjudication of abuse or neglect; unless the child
is present to provide testimony.

8. When the child chooses not to attend after being fully advised in an age-
appropriate manner of the hearing and the opportunity to be present.

9. When the child cannot engage in or understand the proceeding due to

developmental disability.

How May a Child Participate in a Court hearing?

In-person
Through GAL
Virtual appearances (WebEx)
Video clips made by the child
Get-to-Know-You-Sheets for child to complete (not the foster parent).
Letter from child
Artwork from child
Procedures for Implementation of this Protocol
1. Mandatory trainings for judges, city attorney, parents’ counsel, GALs, DSS, CASA,
courtroom clerks and deputies on how to engage children in an age-appropriate
and trauma-informed manner.

2. Mandatory trainings for GALs, DSS, CASA, and foster parents on how to plan and
engage the youth, plan for the court hearing, and plan for debriefing following the
hearing to address possible trauma triggers and responses related to the court
 process. A Checklist has been developed and will be implemented to assign roles
for each of these tasks.

3. A child-friendly invitation to participate in the court hearing, signed by the judge,

will be mailed prior to the issuance of any summons.

4. Children may request a time out or may participate in only a portion of the hearing.
The child will be given a “time out” card he/she/they may use at any point in the
hearing.

Recommendations to Assist in the Implementation of this Protocol

1. Establish a child-friendly waiting area with safe spaces for the child to wait prior to
the case being called, during any time out, and following the court hearing to
debrief.

2. Develop surveys and performance measures to evaluate the protocol.

3. Set a start date for implementation.

4. Subcommittee, with the Best Practices Core Team, to meet quarterly following the
implementation date to review surveys and data and make any necessary changes
to the protocol.

5. Develop video for children on the court process to assist in preparing him/her/them.

6. Meet with DSS and other core individuals to review protocol and receive feedback
prior to implementation.

7. DSS to include additional information about the child in the service plan to assist
the judge in communicating with the child on a developmentally appropriate level.

8. Develop case studies to use as examples during trainings, including what

“engagement” may look like at various stages of the foster care timeline.
Leisa K. Ciaffone
COMMONWEATLH of VIRGINIA
Heather P. Ferguson City of Roanoke Michelle Esparagoza
Hilary D. Griffith Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court CLERK
Adam H. Moseley Twenty-Third Judicial District
Frank W. Rogers, III 315 W. CHURCH AVENUE S.W.
JUDGES ROANOKE, VIRGINIA 24016
PHONE: (540) 853-2389 FAX: (540) 853-1195

Dear :

I am the judge in the Roanoke City Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
in a case about you and your family. The decisions I make in that case will involve you.

I am inviting you to come to the court hearings. Whether you come to these hearings
is up to you. You will have a lawyer, called a GAL (Guardian ad litem), who can answer
your questions, tell the judge what he or she thinks is best for you, help you understand
what happens in court, and tell the judge what you want the judge to know.

If you want to come to court, let your foster parent, your GAL, or your foster care
worker know. They will work with you to help you get ready. You can also scan the
QR Code below to watch a video about the court process.

You may decide that you do not want to come to court, but still want to participate
in some way. You can send me a letter, a drawing, a coloring sheet, and/or a photo to let
me know about you.

What you have to say is important to me. I will listen to you and your point of view.
My job is to consider all the facts to decide what is best for you which means sometimes, it
may not be what you want. Even if you decide not to come to this hearing, we will still let
you know about future hearings.

I hope to see you soon. Meeting you in person will help me to understand you better
and make sure that I consider your thoughts and feelings when making my decision.

Sincerely,
 ENGAGING YOUTH IN COURT CHECKLIST
Presumption: Youth should be engaged in all stages of the court proceedings.
Exceptions: See Roanoke City Protocol for Engaging Youth.
This checklist is to assign responsibility for each of these tasks as agreed to by the
FSS, the GAL, the foster parent, CASA or someone else.

Prior to court hearing:

__________Determine whether the youth wants to attend court or if the youth wants to
participate in one of the alternative methods of communicating with the court.
__________If one of the alternative methods, who is responsible for completing that
with the youth.
__________Explain the importance of the youth’s input into decisions that will affect
his/her/their life.
__________Address the youth’s concerns or fears about attending court, if any.
__________Consult with youth’s therapist to determine if there are any concerns with
the youth attending the court hearing.

Preparing the youth for the court hearing:

__________Provide the youth with an invitation to attend the court hearing in advance
of the summons.
__________Explain the court process to the youth, including wait times and bringing
materials to occupy him/her/them.
__________Discuss who will be present at the hearing and their roles.
__________Have the youth identify a supportive person to be present during the
hearing.
__________Coordinate with the supportive person to make sure they are able to attend
the hearing with the youth.
__________If the child is 12 or older, review the FC Service Plan or FC Service Plan
Review with the youth.
__________Decide whether the youth should participate in the entire hearing or be
excused for certain portions.
__________Discuss with the child whether the child wants to speak directly to the judge
in the courtroom or in chambers or not at all.
__________Explain to youth options during the hearing such as asking for a time out,
etc.
__________Who is bringing the youth to court?

During the hearing:

__________If applicable, as a preliminary matter, inform the court that the youth should
be excused for certain portions of the hearing and explain why.
__________If child chooses a time out, who will accompany them in the lobby as
his/her/their support person.

Debrief the youth after the hearing:

__________Spend time with the youth after the hearing to talk about what happened
during the hearing, regardless of whether the youth attended the hearing.
__________Ensure the youth understands what happened, when the next court hearing
is, and what is going to happen between now and then.
__________Review the court order with the youth.
__________Contact the caregiver, if not present at the hearing, to inform them of
anything that happened during the hearing that may have impacted the youth.
__________Contact the youth’s therapist to provide information that might be relevant
to the youth’s treatment.
__________Allow the youth to ask questions.
__________Provide a written summary of the hearing, if youth is able to read,
regardless of whether the youth attended the hearing.