Cases of neglect and abuse towards children by parents or guardians normally have their special treatment in a court of law. These are normally put under special proceedings of juvenile dependency. The main goal is to ensure that children are protected as well as ensuring that families are reunited. The court is therefore designated with the task of determining the validity of the abuse and neglect claims against children.
It is also the duty of the court to decide if the victim should be made a dependent of the court or just urged to remain with the family. However, it is the child to come up with the final decision on the matter. If he/she declines the chance to be reunited with the family or guardian, then the court considers that. In that case, a new residence is set up for him to be relocated.
Partners from the community can also assist the court in taking care of the parents of dependent children. In this case, they would start up treatment projects for parents with drug addiction problems. In some cases, they a dependency drug department is set up to offer further assistance to those with severe issues.
The types of groups working together with the court include Health and Human Service Agencies, County Counsels, Dependency Legal Groups, and Alcohol and Drug Service departments. In some places, there are also volunteers who can help in such cases. There is a specific criterion used by the court to handle dependency cases. Normally, a dependency case only appears for court hearing when the victim has been taken away from the family.
After the above procedure, the court can send notifications to the parent or guardian to appear in front of the court for hearing. The notification process is carried out by a social worker who contacts and informs the parent about these requirements. Normally, the hearing is only determined by the case at hand. It is also the responsibility of the court to protect the rights of those involved, while also ensuring that all actions are undertaken under the provision of the law.
The court has also to ensure that the government undertakes its responsibilities as well as appointing a lawyer to represent other parties in the hearing. During the hearing session the court has to put a number of factors related to the case into consideration. For instance, it may have to consider severity of the claims, age of the child, and reports by the police or social worker.
The court of law also has to look into the arguments by the attorney, psychiatric and medical records, and the history of the family. It also ensures that each party to the case is represented by a lawyer in every case. Only a certain number of people are allowed to testify in a dependency case. These include; doctors, teachers, police officers, witnesses, social workers and the victim.
In most cases the hearing program is initiated by a petition from the Social Service Agency. This is then used for the identification of all parties involved and those required for the hearing as well the actual allegations against the victim. After that, the clerk of the court files the petition and schedules the hearing of the case.
Read more about Various Facts About Juvenile Dependency.