Intro to disposition report writing

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1 Intro to disposition report writing

2 Introduction to the disposition report
Created for use by the Alaska casa program With excerpts Taken from the National CASA Flex Learning Volunteer Training Curriculum

3 Goals Provide and overview of the key elements of a disposition report, including what types of information to gather, where to find the information, and how to present it in your disposition report. Review tips for writing an effective report. Provide sample GAL disposition reports to help guide your own report writing. Demonstrate how to organize and pull information from all the materials needed to write your report. We will then use our remaining time to let you begin sifting through all of your discovery and prepping to write your report. This process should help you gain a sense of what information you have yet to request or receive that you will need to write a comprehensive disposition report and effectively advocate for your CASA youths.

4 What happens at disposition?
OCS will ask the court for a signed Order of Disposition, which is comprised of a number of important legal findings: Custody Contrary to Welfare / Imminent Harm Reasonable / Active Efforts Placement Case plan May also address visitation / family contact Does anyone here know what happens at a disposition hearing? It’s the one that comes after the PTC or adjudication trial… The judge makes a number of very important legal findings. Custody Finding The judge determines whether or not a child should be committed to OCS legal custody – typically allows for 2 years. (Prior to disposition OCS is only granted “temporary custody”) Contrary to Welfare / Imminent Harm Findings The judge determines whether or not continued placement in the home is “contrary to welfare” of child In ICWA case, judge must also determine whether or not custody of the child by the parent or custodian is likely to cause serious emotional or physical damage to child. Reasonable / Active Efforts Findings The judge determines whether or not OCS made reasonable / Active efforts and whether or not those efforts have been successful to date. Reasonable efforts to provide family support services designed to prevent or eliminate the need for out-of-home placement Active efforts to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs designed to prevent the breakup of the family Placement Preference The judge determines whether or not the placement is in the best interests of the child and whether or not OCS has complied with legal placement preferences or has demonstrated good cause to deviate. Case plan The judge determines whether or not to order the parents to participate in family support services recommended by the OCS. Visitation The judge may also order OCS to file a visitation (family contact) plan with the court.

5 Writing a clear and compelling report is essential to your work as a CASA volunteer.
It is the vehicle through which you present the information you have gathered about a child’s situation and your recommendations about what services will meet the child’s needs. Judges rely on the information in CASA/GAL volunteer court reports as they make their decisions. CASA/GAL volunteer court reports are shared with all parties to a case and any other individuals who are authorized by law to receive them. So this is a crucial legal stage in the CINA court proceedings, which means that the disposition reports provided to the court by GALs and CASA volunteers are extremely important.

6 Key elements of the disposition report
What information do we need? Where does it go in the report? where do we find it?

7 Identifying information
What? Info used to identify the CINA case and the children. Note Most of this will be provided by support staff (e.g. case numbers, birth dates etc.) but you will be responsible for checking for accuracy and getting a photo of the child or sibling group.

8 Identifying info: in the report
Photo of the child(ren) really helps bring the case to life for the legal parties, especially the judge!!! Sometimes an older youth may not want a picture included and that’s fine, but when we can, we always try to include a photo.

9 Introduction / Disposition recommendation
What? A summary statement of your ultimate recommendation regarding custody of the children and the primary reasons why. Note Talk about the level of the parents’ engagement, status of family contact, status of OCS’ efforts. What are the barriers to reunification? Basically, talk about the type of case this is. Do you think OCS should have legal custody of the children? What are your reasons?

10 Intro / recommendation: in the report
The guardian ad litem (GAL) and Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) recommend that Susie and Molly Rainbow be placed in the custody of the Department and that the court adopt the findings and orders requested. Susie and Molly’s mother is still in the process of addressing the concerns that brought the children into custody. Mrs. Rainbow has a history of substance abuse and has caused substantial physical harm to her children while disciplining them. She is currently engaged in substance abuse treatment and needs to engage in services to address parenting skills and anger management. Susie and Molly see their mother during weekly supervised family contact and are working with their therapist to address the trauma caused by their exposure to substance abuse and physical abuse. The children's father is deceased. Pause to see if there are any questions at this point.

11 legal parties What? Note
A list of the legal parties in the case and their roles. Note This list may have already been made by support staff, but you should check and make sure that the list is accurate. Not a chance for attorneys to let loose

12 Parties: in the report Children Oldest Child Youngest Child
Mother Mother’s Name Mother's attorney Attorney’s Name Father Father’s Name Father’s attorney Attorney’s Name Social worker Worker’s Name Assistant Attorney General Attorney’s Name Guardian ad litem GAL’s Name CASA Volunteer CASA’s Name Tribe (Delete this line if not applicable) ICWA worker (Delete this line if not applicable)

13 Procedural history What? Note
Chronological listing of the dates and outcomes of every hearing / meeting of the parties. Note Support staff may have already done this but check and make sure that all dates and outcomes are correct.

14 Procedural history: in the report
01/25/2016 Emergency Removal 01/28/2017 Initial Probable Cause Hearing 02/03/2017 Continued Probable Cause Hearing 02/16/2017 Continued Probable Cause (stipulation entered) 03/01/2017 Interim Case Conference (ICC) 03/30/2017 Pre-Trial Conference (stipulation to adjudication entered under AS (10)) 07/27/2017 Disposition

15 Information gathering
What A list of all of the people and agencies you and the GAL contacted and records reviewed. Note Do not include the legal parties individually

16 Info gathering: in the report
CONTACTS All above listed parties Hannah Tortilla, IA worker Frances Kettlecorn, Foster parent Frank Sunchip, Uncle Sally Pretzel, Childcare Provider Dr. Mark Cheeto, ANMC Pediatrician Grace Dorito, Programs for Infants and Children (PIC) Melissa Bugle, Northwood Elementary School Roger Potato, Alaska Community Mental Health Services (ACMHS) Therapist RECORDS OCS discovery Anchorage School District Anchorage Police Department (APD) Worksafe State of Alaska, District Court documents Think about your own case… What are some of the contacts and records that will probably be on your list? Sometimes I’ll make this list early on as a way of determining which people I want to talk to and which records I want to review. Just make sure that if you don’t end up getting to speak with that person or review that record that you take them off the list!

17 Placement history What
An account of where / with whom the child lived since being removed from the parent(s). Either a bullet list or a narrative is fine. Note This may be included in a separate section early in the report, or it could be included in the narrative sections devoted to each child. Ask the GAL how they prefer to provide this information to the court.

18 Placement history: In the report
7/31/12 – 8/17/12 Mrs. Orange, emergency foster placement 8/17/12 – 8/31/12 Mrs. Yellow, relative foster placement 8/31/12 – 9/26/12 Mr. and Mrs. Purple, trial home visit 9/26/12 – 3/18/13 Mrs. Yellow, relative foster placement 3/18/13 – 4/16/13 Mrs. Pink, relative foster placement 4/16/13 – present Mrs. Red, licensed foster placement Hopefully your placement history doesn’t look like this, but it might… this was pulled directly from one of my real disposition reports 

19 Placement history - How do we find out?
INFORMATION SOURCES: You may have this information first hand if you are assigned at the very beginning of the case. OTHERWISE The GAL OCS discovery (records and notices of placement changes) Foster parents The youth

20 Icwa status IN THE REPORT What:
Information on whether this is an ICWA case or not. If not, you do not need to include this section in your report. If so, is the Tribe identified? Notified? Have they intervened? What is the child’s enrollment status? IN THE REPORT This is an ICWA case. All of the children are enrolled with Nome Eskimo Community. Nome Eskimo Community intervened in this matter on February 22, 2016.

21 Icwa status / Tribal enrollment – how do we find out?
Information Sources: Family ICWA Worker / Tribal rep(s) Records – notice of intervention OCS discovery Notice of intervention will include enrollment information. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether or not you are dealing with an ICWA case. If the children are not enrolled, do the parents want to children enrolled? Is there more than one tribe the children are eligible for membership in? Things can get a bit complicated. Marsha will give an outlier example. When in doubt – treat as ICWA…

22 paternity IN THE REPORT What
Statement on whether or not paternity established. If so, how? If not, what are the barriers? IN THE REPORT Mr. Dad is the father of all three children. His name is on their birth certificates. There is no dispute among the parties regarding paternity. Or Mr. Dad is on all the children’s birth certificates; however, paternity was in question. Paternity testing confirmed that Mr. Carruba is the biological father. There is no father listed on the children’s birth certificates. Mr. Dad claims to be the biological father. The GAL and CASA volunteer recommend that a paternity test is performed to determine whether or not Mr. Dad is the children’s biological father. Very important detail – can come back to bite you at the end of a case if not properly investigated early on.

23 pATERNITY – how do we find out?
Information Sources: Birth certificate – you can request through support staff or OCS may have a copy. Paternity Test – usually facilitated by OCS but there are other avenues to get one done.

24 History / Prior protective services reports (PSR)
What A description of the family history and all the reports of abuse and/ or neglect of the children ever received by OCS. Note If there is no prior history or OCS has sufficiently discussed the prior history in their report, you can skip this section.

25 Prior PSR HISTORY: In the report
The history of this family’s contacts with the department is thoroughly outlined in the Department’s pre-disposition report and will not be repeated here. Or 10/30/12 Neglect. Liza Cucumber was alleged perpetrator. Screened Out. 10/01/13 Neglect/ Drug/Alcohol prenatal exposure / Parental substance abuse. Victor Cucumber was the alleged perpetrator SUBSTANTIATED. You might choose to present this information in a narrative format. See examples in handouts.

26 Protective services reports (PSR) – how do we find out?
Information Sources: OCS discovery You will want to look through your discovery early in order to determine if you have copies of all of the PSRs. For any PSR that was screened in, there should also be an Initial Assessment (IA) that documents OCSs’ investigation into the PSR and their determination about whether or not the allegation of abuse is substantiated. If you are missing any of these documents, you should notify the OCS worker and the AG that you would like them to send these documents out in discovery as soon as possible. You should also review any safety plans that were created by OCS and any other assessments performed by OCS to determine the children’s risk in the home (e.g. FRAN). Older Protective Service Reports will be labeled as Reports of Harm. Look for the most recent PSR / ROH – included at the end of the report should be a list of all prior reports, with dates, type of allegation and whether or not the report was substantiated. That’s a good place to start. Now that you have this list, you can go through your discovery and see if you have copies of all the prior reports you have listed. Who can tell us what it means for a report to be substantiated by OCS?

27 Criminal history / restraining orders
What? A list of each parent’s criminal history and DV restraining orders relevant to the case, including date and offense. May also want to include notes about sentences and / or probation requirements if applicable. Note The GAL may or may not want to include this information in the disposition report. If the GAL does wish to include this information, it might be included as a list towards the beginning of the report, or it may be included as part of the narrative in the sections of the report that address each parent.

28 Criminal history: In the report
Sarah Walnut 01/26/96 Attempted import of Alcohol 12/20/04 Child neglect 09/24/08 Child neglect / PTRP - ASAP 10/06/08 Violation of Condition of Release Frank Walnut 10/07/87 DWI 11/17/90 DWI 02/22/01 DWI

29 Criminal history / restraining orders - How do we find out?
Information Sources Courtview search 2 APD reports Obtain records from the courthouse

30 THE CHILDREN! What This is your chance to share all of the knowledge you’ve gained regarding each child and really bring a child to life for the judge, who may not ever get to meet the child in person. This is where you tell the court how the child is doing and advocate for the child’s needs! This is the part of the report that the GALs rely on you the most for!!!! Each child gets a section.

31 The children: in the report
See multiple examples in handouts! Include as much of the following information as possible: Age Hobbies/interests/activities Placement history, relative placement search, current placement/in best interest? ICWA placement preference? Visitation Education status/issues including grades, attendance, IEP, disciplinary issues. Medical status/issues. Services status/issues (counseling, wrap-around services, tutoring). Assessments completed or needed. Independent living needs/services. Financial resources/needs (PFD, SSI, waivers, etc.). Conclude the section with a bulleted list of recommendations you have for the child.

32 The children – how do we find out?
Information sources Your own personal observations and notes from visits and interviews with collateral contacts. Records review (medical, educational, mental health). OCS – discovery and communication with the assigned worker(s). Foster parents Bio parents if permitted Relatives Teachers ICWA worker Therapist

33 Current placement Address the appropriateness of the child’s placement. Is the child in the highest placement preference possible? Are the child’s needs being met? Other factors to consider? General requirements (ICWA and state law): Least restrictive setting that most closely approximates a family Within reasonable proximity to child’s home Taking child’s special needs into account Taking child’s or parent’s preference into account A note about addressing placement in the children’s section…

34 Placement Preferences*: Foster Care
ICWA State Law Extended family member Foster home licensed, approved or specified by tribe Indian foster home licensed by state Institution approved by tribe or operated by Indian organization Adult family member Family friend who meets licensing standards Licensed foster home Institution with program suitable to meet child’s needs *Must be followed unless “good cause”

35 Gather records ahead of time!
Make sure that you have obtained all the records you need to inform your position on the child’s needs / best interests. You want to gather records early enough to have time to review them but close enough to disposition that they will still reflect the child’s current status. This may mean gathering the same type of record on more than one occasion if services are ongoing. The sweet spot – new too early, not too late!

36 The parents What Narrative section about each parent. The narrative section is typically preceded by a bulleted list of requirements from the current OCS case plan. The section may also include: Social history Criminal history / restraining orders. Probation/parole requirements/compliance. Case plan compliance, focusing on whether there has been behavior change observed as a result of services participated in. Additional referrals/assessments needed. Each parent’s section should conclude with any recommendations you and the GAL have for the parent (items that should be added to the case plan). Talk to the GAL about how much time / focus you should devote to this section.

37 The parents - how do we find out?
Information sources OCS discovery: this is going to be your main source for obtaining information on the parents’ progress. Depending on the items on each parents’ case plan, you may be looking for the following sources of information in OCS discovery: Current copy of the parents’ case plans – OCS is supposed to update every 6 months. UA results or other drug test results like hair follicle tests. Assessments, treatment records or certificates of completion. OCS reports of contact (ROC) notes and s. Note Without a release of information signed by the parent, we do not have direct access to any parent records. We often rely on OCS to obtain and distribute records / notes pertaining to the parents’ progress. Where do we get the info What kind of info are we looking for?

38 The parents - What should casa focus on
As a CASA volunteer, the way you can best assist the GAL in completing this section is to thoroughly review the OCS discovery and treatment records pertaining to each parent and provide the GAL with a current update on the parent’s progress on each case plan item. What services have they completed and dates of completion. What services are they engaged in and perhaps dates of participation. What services have they failed to begin? If you don’t have the answers to these questions after going through all of your discovery, contact OCS / the AG and request that this information be provided in discovery. Again, each GAL and each case will have different needs from the CASA so always check with the GAL on your specific case to find out what to do… That being said, they will probably be impressed and very appreciative if you offer to do the above!

39 Family contact What Discuss the family contact plan (frequency, location, level of supervision) and any recommended changes. Talk about family contact with parents, with siblings if not placed together, and with other relatives. Note You may include this information in its own section or as part of the narrative about the children and parents. Either way, MAKE SURE FAMILY CONTACT IS ADDRESSED IN THE REPORT!!!

40 Family contact - how do we find out?
Information sources Talk to / the OCS worker Interview the visitation supervisor(s) Observe family contact Talk to the children Talk to the parents (if permitted) OCS Discovery Visitation notes Request visitation notes yourself

41 Reasonable / active efforts
What A paragraph stating your position on whether or not OCS has made reasonable or active efforts. Discuss referrals for services made, efforts to maintain appropriate placements and services for the children, facilitation of family contact, attempts to case plan and anything else the Department has done to help the family.

42 Reasonable / Active efforts - how do we find out?
Information sources OCS discovery

43 summary What A brief discussion using the facts established in the report to support disposition recommendations. The bottom line about what needs to happen to reunify this family or why reunification can’t occur. EXAMPLE Dorothy and Annie are currently placed with their paternal grandmother, Marilyn Monroe. Their father, Mr. Sandwich, has not made any progress addressing the concerns that brought his children into OCS custody. Their mother, Mrs. Sandwich, has made minimal progress and according to OCS, continues to demonstrate behavior and decision making that indicates that placement of the children in her care would be contrary to the children’s welfare and would likely result in serious emotional and/or physical damage to the children. It is therefore in the children’s best interest to remain in OCS custody and to continue placement with their grandmother.

44 recommendations What:
A list of all the recommendations you have made throughout the report with regard to the children and parents. Note: The GALs are not consistent in the format used for this section. Talk to the GALs on your cases about if/ how they want you to write the recommendations sections.

45 Tips for writing effective court reports
Any questions before we move into the next section?

46 Keys to a Successful Report
Be thorough and specific. Get your information firsthand. Report the facts. Make specific recommendations that flow from the facts. Use the court report format provided by your program. Submit your report on time so CASA/GAL program staff can review and comment on your report.

47 DO… Check with the GAL regarding a date for submitting the report. A particular time frame is required for several reasons: The GAL may ask you to do some additional research or documentation. The GAL needs time to edit the report and talk with you about any clarifications. The GAL may have other court reports to edit, and each one takes time to process appropriately. Copies need to be made and forwarded to appropriate parties. Note: If case activity occurs after you’ve submitted your report, consult with the GAL, who will assist you in bringing any new information to the court.

48 Do… Notify the OCS worker about important developments or recommendations that are bound to cause surprise or controversy (e.g. no reasonable / active efforts). Always discuss this kind of potentially sensitive issue with the GAL before contacting other parties. The GAL will help guide your communication with the other parties or may prefer to initiate contact him/herself.

49 Do… Update all of your contacts and relevant information prior to writing the report. Is there a new OCS worker? Has there been a placement change? Make sure all the names, titles, quotes and dates in the report are correct. Use the local CASA/GAL program’s approved court report template. Write in simple, straightforward language, addressing only relevant topics. Make sure all the major headings are covered. Be concise and very specific. Feel free to bullet point.

50 Do… Ensure that all of your recommendations are child‐focused.
Not Child Focused child focused Mrs. Mom must have substance abuse evaluation, follow recommendations from same and remain drug-free for 6 month before court will consider reunification. In order to ensure that Jamilla is able to live safely with a parent who isn’t abusing drugs, the GAL recommends that Mrs. Mom has a substance abuse assessment, follows recommendations from same and remains drug-free for 6 months prior to reunification.

51 Do… Support all of your recommendations with corresponding information. For example, do not include a recommendation for little Sally to attend counseling immediately without first providing information about why Sally needs to see a therapist. What behaviors is she demonstrating or what trauma has she experienced? Example The OCS caseworker made referrals for intake assessments to both Good Samaritan Counseling and Alaska Community Mental Health Services. Good Samaritan was able to start services faster and Matilda has had four sessions so far. The GAL spoke to Matilda’s counselor, Ann Flowers, on May 7, Ms. Flowers stated that Matilda’s behaviors can be attributed, at least in part, to a trauma response from the domestic violence she was exposed to at home. Ms. Flowers also discussed the possibility that Matilda has some organic neurodevelopmental deficits. The GAL recommends that Matilda continues seeing Ms. Flowers to address her trauma. Additionally, the GAL recommends that Matilda be referred to Dr. Steven Mailloux for a neuropsychological assessment to determine what additional treatment needs she may have.

52 Do… Include only factual statements and take out any subjective words in the assessment section (i.e., “I believe,” “I want,” “I think”). Do not insert your opinion into your statement. Fact or Opinion? The house that Ellen lives in is dirty and unhealthy for a little child. Ms. Jones does not want anyone to help her learn how to be a better housekeeper. Susie is really too young to be going to school for a full day. She would be better off spending more time with her foster mother or visiting with her grandmother. Ms. Ray. Cindy’s mother, stated that she is willing to help her daughter by transporting her to her counseling appointments, providing some limited financial assistance, and by caring for Susie during the afternoons that Cindy will be working. She is a very concerned and pleasant woman. It is obvious that this situation is not going to improve in the near future. This family has made no effort to help themselves and does not really care about what happens to their child.

53 Preparing to write the report
How do I get organized?

54 Hands on organizing file and discovery
Now that you have a good idea of what should be in your report it is time to get organized and figure where the information is, that you would like to include in your report. Take a look at the sample case file and discovery and organize the file to best be able to pull out the information you need. Use the provided materials to help you organize Pull out specific documents that you will need to use to gather information for your report.