Children in Court Study
The Lancaster County Juvenile Court has recently begun encouraging children and youth to attend their foster care hearings. In fact, over the past decade, there has been growing support and interest across the country for involving children in their court proceedings. It is believed that including children in the court process, thus giving them a voice, can be empowering for the children. Additionally, their involvement may be uniquely informational for the judge and other parties and attorneys present in the courtroom. The University of Nebraska’s (Lincoln) Center on Children, Families, and the Law (CCFL) is conducting a study to assess children’s perceptions and attitudes regarding their participation in the court process, as well as to look at the impact of children’s participation on the court process itself.
The study includes children who participated in their court hearings as well as children who did not. Children who are present in court are given an opportunity to provide some brief feedback on their thoughts and feelings just before and just after their hearings. Representatives from CCFL are also attending court hearings to observe the effect of the children’s participation on the process. Within two weeks of each of the observed hearings, representatives from CCFL visit the children in their foster homes to help them complete a brief questionnaire about their experiences with the court system.
Although the study will likely not be complete until the end of 2009, preliminary data will be presented at the 2008 Through the Eyes of the Child Regional Conferences.
For more information regarding the Children in Court Study please contact or
