A Refresher on Court Reports
In-Service TrainingChris BrownJoe KernanSarah Noviks
Summit County Juvenile Courthouse
CASA/GAL Program of Summit County
650 Dan St. Akron OH 44310
33-643-2928
Tips to Remember
Please submit reports 7 days prior to your court hearing to your Volunteer Coordinator
– We must file 7 days before a hearing (originally 3)
With a Permanent Custody report, it must be filed 7 days prior as well
Tips to Remember
This is a court document– NO slang– NO foul language– Do not abbreviate– NO “I” (This CASA/GAL)– NO initials anywhere– NO opinions…just the
facts!– DO use Arial or Times
New Roman font
Tips to Remember
Start your report right after your last hearing and add to it as you go. – Only include information from one
hearing to the next– Put a reminder on your calendar every
few weeks to update your report
Heading
To save yourself time:– Since the information is the
same, copy and paste from your last report into the new document
– Be sure to change the date, time, and hearing type
Case Contacts
Use Mr. Ms. Mrs., this is a court document
Do NOT use foster parents’ names
Do NOT use the child(ren)’s school names
Tab the contacts so they line up Foster parents/kinship providers
can be listed here, visits remain in the visit section
Attempted Contacts Unsuccessful
This section is for unsuccessful contacts If you call someone and leave a message,
and they call you back within a day or two it is not considered unsuccessful
If you call someone and they never call you back…..
If you go to a scheduled visit and no one is present…..
Reading of Records
Use SCCS instead of CSB Counseling Drug screen results Online criminal checks Medical Education
Visits
In the child’s placement, parent’s home, or SCCS If visit is at foster parent’s home, include foster parent
under the visit If visit is at kinship placement, include kinship
provider If visit is at parent’s home or SCCS, include
individuals present who are a party to the case (parents, kinship provider)
Case History
Only use the ORIGINAL complaint Do NOT use ongoing history of what has
happened on the case Use past tense
Summary of Activities
Summarize in a few paragraphs about each child
– Do not list what you saw/what happened on each visit (on the 3/15/12 visit the CASA saw….)
– Limit physical characteristics of children
Only list parties to the case– Children, parents, temporary or
legal custodians Always list children first! This is
our focus
Summary of Activities: Children
In the children’s section make sure to cover:
– Placement– Adjustment to placement– Services– School– Medical/development– Visits with
parents/siblings
Summary of Activities: Parents
In the parents’ section be sure to include:– Case plan goals (also can copy and paste from
previous reports)– Case plan compliance– List the fathers EVEN if they are not participating
in case plan goals
*NEW* Wishes of Each Child
Similar to the summary of activities, there is a heading, and each child is listed with DOB and age
Include 1-2 sentences per child in regards to their wishes
– For example: “Chris consistently expresses that he does not want to be in the custody of SCCS because he feels as if he is unable to lead a normal life. He wants to be at home with his father”
– If the child is too young to express a wish: “Chris is an infant; therefore, he is too young to express his wishes.”
Assessments
Try to write recommendations first, then come back to assessments to explain WHY you want to make those recommendations
There should be a short summary about all the children and all parents
Recommendations
ON A SEPARATE PAGE! Use bullet points Only use a sentence or two per bullet
Custody Placement Any motions Visitation Services for children Services for parents
QUESTIONS???