What progress has been made in meeting the needs of seriously maltreated children? The course of 200 cases through the Boston Juvenile Court.
OBJECTIVE
The study examined child, parent, and case characteristics in a sample of 200 cases of serious child maltreatment brought before the Boston Juvenile Court (BJC) on Care and Protection petitions in 1994. Whether recent changes in Massachusetts law have been effective in reducing delays in adjudication and helping children achieve permanent placements more quickly was also examined.


METHODS
Data were abstracted from court records by the research team. The 200 cases were followed prospectively for 4 years. Retrospective data on the families' previous involvement with the protective service system were also abstracted from the records. Data from the 1994 cases were compared to that obtained from a sample of cases brought before the BJC in 1985-1986.


RESULTS
Children permanently removed from parental custody in the 1994 sample required less time post-disposition to achieve permanent placements. However, overall, time frames for the 1994 cases remained remarkably similar to those in 1985-1986: children were in the protective service system an average of 5 years; cases required an average of 1.6 years in court; and half of the children permanently removed from parental custody were still in "temporary" foster care at 4-year follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Although some improvements have occurred since 1985-1986, the system still fails to meet the needs of seriously maltreated children to achieve permanent placements promptly. The implications of the findings for system reform are discussed.
Bishop
S J
SJ
Yale University, Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy, New Haven, CT 06511-2188, USA.
Murphy
J M
JM
Hicks
R
R
Quinn
D
D
Lewis
P J
PJ
Grace
M
M
Jellinek
M S
MS
D000293:Adolescent; D001900:Boston; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002655:Child Custody / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014505:Urban Population