In 2022, the General Assembly requested that the Committee on District Courts “study the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court system to assess whether appropriate diligence and attention is being given to child dependency court hearings and to make recommendations as to whether a separate docket or court would result in better service to children and families involved in child dependency hearings." 2022 Ch. 305 (SB 396, Enactment Clause 2). The Court Improvement Program (CIP) in the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia was requested to lead this study on behalf of the Committee on District Courts.

To address the requirements of the Enactment Clause, an advisory workgroup was established to identify study activities, review key findings, and identify recommendations to better serve children and families involved in child dependency court hearings. Members included one retired and five active juvenile and domestic relations district court judges, four juvenile and domestic relations district court clerks of court, and a juvenile and domestic relations district court management analyst with the Department of Judicial Services in the Office of the Executive Secretary. The workgroup met four times between December 2022 and September 2023. At its initial meeting in December 2022, the workgroup defined diligence and attention. For purposes of this study, diligence is hearing efficiency and productivity. Attention is procedural effectiveness and satisfaction. The workgroup also established the following activities to assess the juvenile and domestic relations district court system’s diligence and attention to child dependency court hearings:

• Analyze child dependency case data from the juvenile case management system (JCMS). JCMS is the system used by all juvenile and domestic relations district courts in Virginia to collect, organize, and analyze cases that come before these courts.

• Survey active and retired juvenile and domestic relations district court judges, juvenile and domestic relations district court clerks and deputy clerks, attorneys representing local departments of social services in child dependency cases, attorneys representing parents involved in child dependency cases, and qualified guardians ad litem for children.

• Conduct court site visits virtually with up to ten randomly selected juvenile and domestic relations district courts to include the chief judge and/or presiding judge of the court, the clerk of court, and members of the court community, as invited by the judge.

The data collected through these activities reveal the juvenile and domestic relations district court system’s diligence and attention to child dependency court hearings and highlight the priority these cases are given in Virginia’s juvenile and domestic relations district courts. Table 1, found on numbered page iii, is demonstrative.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Overall, the data collected and analyzed in this study demonstrate that child dependency court proceedings receive appropriate and suitable diligence and attention by the juvenile and domestic relations district courts, and that these cases consistently receive priority by the courts on their current dockets. The shortage of attorneys, cited as a strain on the child dependency court hearing process, would not be addressed by the creation of a separate docket or court. The data support the conclusion that a separate docket or court would not result in better service to children and families.