16th Judicial Circuit: New Program Takes Aim at ‘Devastating Impact of Child Abuse’
An innovative, new program in Kane County is aiming to achieve better outcomes for children reported to be victims of abuse and neglect.
The Illinois Equal Justice Foundation has awarded Chicago-based nonprofit Resolution Systems Institute $40,000 to launch the 16th Judicial Circuit’s child protection mediation program in Kane County. In conjunction with the court and other stakeholders, the program scheduled to begin serving families in December 2016 hopes to offer families a more collaborative forum to ensure the safety and well-being of their children.
Judge William Parkhurst
Kane County Judge William Parkhurst, who presides over the local juvenile abuse and neglect courtroom, has been instrumental in the new program’s development.
“The court is in support of RSI bringing this program to the citizens of Kane County,” Parkhurst said. “Having seen the devastating impact of child abuse and neglect during my time on the bench, I believe mediation can be another important tool the court can use to protect these vulnerable children.”
The program seeks to emulate and leverage the success that RSI and the Circuit Court have had with their Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. Since its launch in January 2014, more than 660 homeowners have used the program to work with their lenders in an effort to avoid foreclosure. That program uses RSI’s experience in evaluating mediation programs to monitor and make adjustments that better serve the citizens of Kane County.
Using this experience, RSI has developed a new mediation program to help families explore options when children have been removed from their homes due to concerns about abuse and neglect.
Mediation Program Manager Kevin Malone, who will oversee the program’s development and implementation, said he’s excited to create a venue that brings together the groups and individuals who care about finding safe and permanent homes for Kane County children.
“These cases involve tremendous coordination among family members, foster parents, attorneys, case workers and child advocates, and there isn’t always time to talk through all of the issues that matter to each of them in court,” Malone said. “The more we can empower parties to be heard throughout this process and to work together to find solutions, the better the outcomes will be for children and their families.”
Malone and RSI have been bringing together the stakeholders who will be involved in the program for regular meetings where these various parties can share their input and unique perspectives on the child protection landscape. Recently, the 16th Circuit judges approved the rules which will establish and govern the program.
Those rules will now be sent to the Illinois Supreme Court for final review. Next, the program will recruit experienced mediators to guide the mediation participants toward developing a plan of action which serves the best interests of the children.
To help RSI in the continuing development of the Child Protection Mediation Program and other efforts to strengthen justice through alternative dispute resolution, please visit this page of the RSI website.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Building Community, Building Hope — Strong, nurturing communities that are supportive of families can get involved and play a role in preventing child abuse and neglect and promoting child and family well-being. For more about this month and what you can do to help abused and neglected children, visit this page of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website and the CASA Kane County website.
About Resolution Systems Institute
Resolution Systems Institute is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1995. RSI’s mission is to strengthen justice by enhancing court alternative dispute resolution. Founded on the premise that collecting and disseminating reliable information about court ADR can raise the quality of court ADR, RSI has assisted state and federal courts with the design, administration, monitoring and evaluation of mediation programs, as well as training ADR neutrals. Courts and individuals across the country call on RSI for advice and make use of CourtADR.org, RSI’s Court ADR Resource Center. Since 2013, RSI has put this expertise into practice through the administration, ongoing monitoring and evaluation of foreclosure mediation programs throughout the state of Illinois. For more information, visit www.razoo.com/Resolution-Systems-Institute.
SOURCE: RSI news release
