Pre-Hearing Conferences in Nebraska
By Kelli Hauptman
Pre-hearing conferences has become a term increasingly used in the Nebraska abuse/neglect court system. Since their introduction to Nebraska stakeholders in September 2006, pre-hearing conferences have become widely used by courts as a method to front-load the system and shorten the time necessary to place a child in a permanent home. Anecdotal evidence from judges, attorneys, caseworkers and other suggest that pre-hearing conferences have generally been successful in acquiring more information at the commencement of the case, providing services to parents and children at the earliest opportunity, and moving the case to permanency faster.
To learn more about pre-hearing conferences, read an article published in the November/December 2007 Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association newsletter.
This briefing highlights notable activities across Nebraska involving pre-hearing conferences:
Standardized Protocol
The Protocol Development Committee (PDC), whose members are multi-disciplinary and regionally diverse, was formed by the Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative in early 2007 based on the need expressed by local teams to have a standardized protocol that they could use to establish their practices and procedures in pre-hearing conferences. In late 2007, the Protocol Development Committee approved and published a standardized protocol for pre-hearing conferences. The protocol was the result of months-long discussion and collaboration by PDC members on various aspects of the pre-hearing conference. The Protocol Development Committee continues to meet regularly and is currently addressing the need for training on the pre-hearing conference process.
Legislation
Senator Ashford has agreed to sponsor a bill that addresses confidentiality in pre-hearing conferences and family group conferences. The language of the bill provides that “[a]ll discussions had during these facilitated conferences…shall be considered confidential and privileged communications consistent with the provisions contained in Sections 25-2914 and 25-2933 R.R.S. Nebraska.”
Click here for complete text of the bill.
The legislation was drafted in response to concerns of judges and attorneys about information revealed during the conferences, specifically by the parents. Heretofore, some courts have implemented local rules, regulations or guidelines addressing the confidentiality of pre-hearing conferences. However, uncertainty remained as to enforcement of those rules and guidelines in other jurisdictions. The proposed legislation will make the rule of confidentiality consistent among all courts with the intent to encourage the free flow of information during the pre-hearing conference.
Data Study
The Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative is currently conducting a data study on pre-hearing conferences at 6 sites across Nebraska. The purpose of the study will be to analyze the nature and effect of pre-hearing conferences on the court process and the outcome of abuse/neglect cases. Data will be collected through case file reviews and online surveys of participants. It is expected that the results will be released in early summer 2008. The 6 teams that volunteered to be sites for the study are: 10th District, Team 1 (led by Judge Offner), 10th District, Adams County (led by Judge Ott), 11th District, Team 1 (led by Judge Clark), 5th District Team (led by Judge Rouse), 7th District Team (led by Judge Stoffer) and 12th District, Team A (led by Judge Worden).
Training
As indicated by the Norfolk team’s training on pre-hearing conferences on January 4, 2008, the use and acceptance of pre-hearing conferences in abuse/neglect cases is becoming widespread across the state. Judge Ross Stoffer, the 7th District team lead judge, and Dick Stafford, team member, guardian ad litem, and facilitator, spearheaded the training, which was attended by judges and attorneys from across the district.
Judge Ross Stoffer (above)
The purpose of the training was to educate potential participants about the background and goals of the pre-hearing conference. This was accomplished through the use of a 5-member panel where each member spoke on his or her individual experiences from a pre-hearing conference.
(l to r) Dick Stafford, Joel Carlson, Matt Headley, Julie Gawrych, and LaDonna Mead
Julie Gawrych, a guardian ad litem in Norfolk, stressed the need to make an effort prior to the pre-hearing conference to obtain information from the caseworker and other individuals and meet with the client. Matt Headley, a parents attorney in Norfolk, stated that the pre-hearing conference does not eliminate the duty of parents’ attorneys to “fight the good fight” for their client when it is necessary. But, he added, parents’ attorneys should not automatically resist procedures like the pre-hearing conference and should realize that they can actually quicken the pace in returning their children to their clients’ care by encouraging their clients’ participation.
In Madison County, when an abuse/neglect petition is filed, efforts are made to appoint an attorney as guardian ad litem who has the calendar availability to research the case and meet with clients prior to the pre-hearing conference. In doing so, the pre-hearing conference produces a greater flow of information and knowledge about the facts of the case. Dick Stafford, who has acted as facilitator in multiple pre-hearing conferences, views pre-hearing conferences as a communication process where the parties can find and potentially fix the problems. To do so, the parties must have spent substantial time in reviewing and researching the facts of the case as well as the family’s background and issues.
The 7th District team developed this training with the intent to educate more members of the legal community about the pre-hearing conference process in order to increase their involvement. Prior to the training, Judge Stoffer sent a letter to all court-appointed attorneys in abuse/neglect cases encouraging them to attend the 3-hour training, and in the future intends to appoint attorneys who attended this training session or watched the session on video at a later date.
For more information about pre-hearing conferences, please contact Kelli Hauptman at khauptman2@unlnotes.unl.edu.
View the Norfolk training on pre-hearing conferences:
{flv}7th_district_training{/flv}
