Wis. Stat. section 938.34(3)(f) allows for children to be placed in a juvenile detention facility as a dispositional placement for up to 365 days. However, the regulations for holding kids in juvenile detention facilities for up to 365 days are woefully inadequate. History The guidelines under which juvenile detention centers operate were last reviewed and modified in 2010. They were designed to address safety and basic programming standards for the traditional short-term placements for which juvenile detention facilities and
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Soon We May Soon Know the Required Burden of Proof in TPR Dispositional Hearings
Over its last several sessions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has attempted to determine that burden of proof required during at dispositional phase of a termination of parental rights case in Wisconsin.
The Court first addressed this issue in June 2023 in its decision in State v. A.G.1 In a December 2023 article in this blog, my co-author Courtney L.A. Roelandts and I provided a detailed analysis of this case, which dealt with the issue of the burden
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Diane Rondini Wins Prestigious Leadership Award for Excellence in Youth Defense
Diane Rondini, a retired public defender, has received the 2024 Robert E. Shepherd Jr. Leadership Award for Excellence in Youth Defense. Diane Rondini, a retired public defender and past chair of the State Bar of Wisconsin Children and the Law Section Board, has received the 2024 Robert E. Shepherd Jr. Leadership Award for Excellence in Youth Defense at the Gault Center’s Youth Defense Leadership Summit in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. About the Award The Shepherd Award celebrates
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The Sibling Bond: Its Importance in Foster Care and Adoptive Placement
The sibling bond is a fundamental aspect of human relationships. The bond often outlasts many other connections throughout a person’s life.
In the area of foster care and adoption, where stability and emotional support are important, the preservation of sibling relationships takes on an even greater significance.
As children navigate their self-discovery and personal development, the sibling relationship is a critical influence in their lives. Thus, understanding the impacts of sibling separation in foster care and adoption settings is
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State v. R.A.M. and a Parent’s Right to Counsel in TPR Cases
In May 2024 in this blog, 1 my co-author Jenni Spies Karas and I warned that practitioners and judges should be mindful to cite the authority by which they are requesting or entering default judgment, pending the outcome of the Wisconsin Supreme Court case State v. R.A.M.
That caution has become a reality.
Courtney L.A. Roelandts, Marquette 2018, is the assistant managing attorney of the Children’s Court Guardian ad Litem Division of the Legal Aid Society of
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Colorblindness and Cultural Competency in Transracial Adoptions
Transracial adoption has elicited strong responses for over five decades, with the country split between two extreme ends of the spectrum. On one end, transracial adoption is compared to cultural genocide, while on the other, transracial adoption provides children of color with better opportunities and diverse cultural experiences.1 There is little agreement regarding transracial adoption. However, what is certain is that colorblindness and a lack of cultural competency pose significant threats to children who are transracially adopted. A
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‘Egregious’ and Accidental Waiver of Counsel in TPR Cases
A parent in a termination of parental rights proceeding has a near absolute statutory right to counsel, pursuant to Wis. Stat. section 48.23. Case law establishes that a parent’s statutory right to counsel is not limited to those who appear in person, and that such a right can withstand default judgment.1Wis. Stat. Section 48.23(2)(b)3 In response to these cases, the Wisconsin Legislature amended the statutes to create a process by which a parent may presumptively waive their
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Interrupting the School to Prison Pipeline at the Intersection of Race and Disability
For the past several years, Wisconsin has ranked near the top of the country for racial disparity in nearly every category related to the juvenile justice system.1
State and national trends also support that there is a particular group of youth of color that are uniquely susceptible to involvement in the juvenile justice system: those who have a disability. Nationally, children with disabilities are removed from school and referred to and involved in the juvenile justice system at
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An Overview of Milwaukee County’s Family Drug Treatment Court
The idea of a family drug treatment court is that it takes teamwork, collaboration, and commitment to successfully rehabilitate participants with substance use disorders via a community-based alternative to incarceration.
Milwaukee County’s Family Drug Treatment Court (FDTC), begun in May 2011, and was a first for Wisconsin. The program diverts participants from the traditional justice system into a specialty court and creates an individualized plan that takes into account the participant’s mental and physical health as well as any
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Invaluable: Wisconsin’s Parent Support Program
For the past several years, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has researched models that promote family engagement with parent experiences in the child welfare system to effect change. DCF explored many different models, and selected Iowa’s Parent Partner Model to adapt in Wisconsin because of its many potential benefits as well as for the ability for Wisconsin to contribute to the research base. Parents Supporting Parents in Wisconsin The Wisconsin Parent Partner Model, known as Parents Supporting
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Burden of Proof: ‘A.G.’ and TPR Dispositional Hearings
Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court again waded into the waters of termination of parental rights law in State v. A.G.1 The Court, in its decision, addressed whether, A.G.’s plea was knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered, based on the circuit court informing him during the plea colloquy that the State would have to prove at disposition that termination of parental rights was in the best interests of his child by “clear and convincing” evidence. Wis. Stat. section
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Implications of Haaland and the Indian Child Welfare Act
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court critically upheld the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in a 7-2 decision written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in Haaland v. Brackeen.1
Indian community members, advocacy groups, and family law practitioners awaited the decision with bated breath since oral arguments concluded on Nov. 9, 2022.
The Haaland decision validates and protects adoption practices that preserve the heritage of Indian children. This decision further solidifies the relationship between
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Improving CHIPS and Youth Justice Conditions through the Tailored Dispositional Orders Project
The Tailored Dispositional Orders Project is led by the Children’s Court Improvement Program (CCIP) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
The CHIPS Tailored Dispositional Project was piloted in three counties during 2021-22. The project is now being expanded statewide to counties that are interested in improving their CHIPS and Youth Justice conditions.
Counties participating in the project have seen a reduction in the number of conditions, language that is easier for parents and youth to understand, and
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Unveiling the Gaps: Improving Our Advocacy for Disabled Children
Guardians ad litem (GAL) are tasked with the unique role of representing a child’s wishes and their best interest. Everything a GAL does is to ensure that children have safe environments to grow up in and the most meaningful relationships possible with their families.
It is important that GALs understand the impact a child with disabilities has on their family, so they can effectively be an advocate for the child.
Every professional who works within and around the child
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Gender-affirming Care Is Not Child Abuse
Transgender children and their families are under attack. In the last two years, politicians and lawmakers have sought to limit transgender youth from accessing health care, education, and other basic rights.
Through a campaign of moral outrage based on misleading, incorrect, and at times outright fabricated information, state legislators have introduced at least 306 bills from 2020 to 2022 that target the trans community. Most concerning, the majority of these laws, 86%, center on transgender youth.1
Transgender youth
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For Efficiency’s Sake: Should Jury Trials be Eliminated in Involuntary TPR Actions?
On May 14, 2019,
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced the creation of the Speaker’s Task Force on Adoption, charged with addressing the barriers faced by biological and adoptive parents in the adoption process. On Oct. 3, 2019, the task force
published an interim report – and proposed
numerous bills in the 2019-20 legislative cycle. One of the task force’s recommendations was to eliminate jury trials in the fact-finding portion of the adoption process.
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 628
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