The Supreme Court of Ohio - Supreme Court - State of Ohio

Children, Families & the Courts Section
The Children, Families & the Courts Section provides
technical assistance, training and policy recommendations
to improve court performance in cases involving children
and families. The section convenes roundtable meetings to
allow local court staff to discuss common issues and share
perspectives on current practice needs.
A major highlight for the year was the Ohio Summit on
Children, a two-day event that brought together teams from
79 Ohio counties to share ideas on the most effective court
practices for assisting children and families in contact with
Ohio courts. Hosted by Chief Justice Moyer and Governor
Strickland, the county teams left the Summit with work plans
to implement in their home communities. During a follow-up
Ohio Summit on Children Nov. 12 and 13, 2009, county teams
will report their progress during the preceding months. The
second event also will offer an opportunity for recognizing
those communities where success can be measured in terms of
positive outcomes for children and families.
During 2008, the Children, Families & the Courts staff
completed a study of 2006 termination of parental rights
appeals. The study was a follow-up to a similar 2002 study to
determine if those districts with the longest case-processing time
lines had improved between 2002 and 2006. Results indicate,
however, that the overall state average for case-processing time
lines lengthened by 12 days.
The section also completed a statewide survey of domestic
relations courts about educational programs for parents or
minors going through divorce. The survey results will assist with
the development of an implementation plan for the Advisory
Committee on Children, Families & the Courts’ 2005 Report and
Recommendations on Family Law Reform.
During 2008, 10 Ohio counties began implementing the
Ohio Alternative Response Pilot Project. Alternative response
is a form of practice in child protective services that allows
for more than one method of response to accepted reports of
suspected child abuse and/or neglect. Research demonstrates
that, over time, families involved in an alternative response
system require less court intervention.
The pilot project, which was authorized in 2006 by the Ohio
General Assembly, is the result of a joint effort by the Court and
the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services through the
Advisory Committee on Children, Families & the Courts. The
American Humane Association continues to lead the consultant
team, which has assisted the 10 counties with design and
implementation of an Alternative Response Model for Ohio.
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2008 Annual Report • The Supreme Court of Ohio