October 1, 2008

The Judge's Page Newsletter: Reasonable Efforts in the Dependency Court

With the child's health and safety as the paramount concern, the dependency court judge is required to rule whether or not a child welfare agency has made reasonable efforts toward preventing a child's removal from his home, reunifying the child and family or achieving permanency for the child when reunification is not an option. This issue of The Judges' Page seeks to address the role of the judge in making these reasonable effort findings.