One of the speakers at the CIP Summit was the Honorable R. Michael Key of Troup County Georgia. You can see a copy of the slides from his presentation HERE.
Judge Key presented the Troup County model of Family Time in removal cases. He noted that those parents and children who have meaningful family time are ten times more likely to be reunified.
He reinforced that when parents spend time with children it is not visitation, but instead should be called Parent Time or Family. He stated that Family Time should be based on the unique facts of every case, however, here are the guiding principles:
1. Family Time should take place within 5 days of removal.
2. A Family Time plan should be in place within 30 days.
3. Family Time is presumed to be unsupervised. (This is in agreement with U.C.A. § 30-3-4.5)
a. Although Parents may not be capable full-time parenting, Family Time is not full time parenting.
4. Decreasing Family Time should never be used as a threat or form of discipline (particularly with children) and shall not be reduced without a hearing and Court order.
5. The plan should include clear milestones with incremental increases in Family Time upon completion of those milestones.
The State’s failure to comply with the foregoing, may be a failure to provide reasonable efforts.
Family Time Order should adhere to the following minimums:
Birth to 6 months: 30 to 60 minutes 3 times a week (child psychologists recommend contact every day)
Frequency with young children is more important than duration
6 to 18 months: 1 hour 3 days a week
18 months to 3 yrs: 1.5 hours 2 times per week
3-5 years: 2 hours or more 1 time per week
5-12: 2 or more hours once per week
12-18: No specific recommendations, but should be maximized to child’s tolerance and schedule
The PDA is interested in working with attorneys to implement these suggestions in the various judicial districts around the state. If you would like to help, let us know.
No comments:
Post a Comment