When necessary, argue to the court that by not pro-viding a reunified child with appropriate services, the agency is not making mandated reasonable efforts to achieve permanency

parties need not wait until the next scheduled hearing for a child to return home if safety risks have been addressed. Indicate whether a motion for an accelerated hearing is needed for reunification to occur

Ensure reunification services begin promptly

D&N cases should proceed. They emphasize a concept that you will hearoften during the day – that word is “frontloading.” What it means is thatfrom the moment a family enters the court system the court should ensure thatevery available resource and court practice is used to view the case throughthe eyes of the child, to understand that the child cannot wait, to understandthat the time between court hearings can be an eternity to a child, to knowthat children are not resilient

Timing. The Adjudicatory hearing will be held within 30 days of the filing of theD&N. If the matter is contested, every effort will be made to set the Adjudicatory trialwithin 45 days of the filing of the D&N petition in a removal case and 60 days in anon-emergent case. The court encourages parties to participate in a Family GroupDecision Making or mediation session prior to this hearing or trial and all futurehearings or trials, whenever appropriate.

Children may have become accustomed to avoiding problemsrather than dealing with them and may never have developed the active coping skills that are so criti-cal to developmen

. Avoidance is a powerful, if extremelyunhealthy coping strategy and in court-involved families there may be an even greater impetus toresist change

hildren who resist contact with a parent may be more likely to come to the attention of the court,as the excluded parent may seek orders to enforce the parenting plan, provide counseling, a child custo-dy evaluation, or an order for some of the more specialized milieu programs that address disrupted rela-tionships. Many of these families are also poorly served, as they may initially be referred to therapythat is not adequately structured or specialized for this situation. Outmoded and often demonstrablyineffective treatment approaches, such as counseling that is limited to the rejected parent and child, areoften among the first to be attempted. (This is a common structure when courts order “reunificationtherapy,” but a one-sided approach is rarely successful and may exacerbate the problem.

responsive to treatment or fail to elicit the sympathy of authority figures. This underscores

others.Critical among these abilities is that the childactivelyengages with others, in an appropriate way,to get his/her needs met.

(Dunn, Davies, O’Connor, & Sturgess,2001; Pedro-Carroll, 2005; Pedro-Carroll, Sandler, & Wolchik, 2005; Sandler, Tein, Mehta,Wolchik, & Ayers, 2000). These include both coping abilities and coping efficacy, as well as accessto the normal peer and developmental activities that other children enjoy (Pedro-Carroll, 2005). Cop-ing abilities include, but are not limited to, the ability to differentiate one’s own feelings from some-one else’s, appropriately express independent needs and feelings, regulate emotions, managedistress, recognize danger, know the difference between anxiety or discomfort and danger, ask forhelp, and form healthy relationships with others

studies underscore commonelements in successful outcome

symptoms.Trained professionals can identify problem behaviors and intervene early, before problems become entrenched

investigation and litigationmay precede any meaningful attempt at intervention, based on the questionable belief that all elements of causality (or blame)must be established before any effective treatment can occur. Children’s functioning may continue to deteriorate during thistime, undermining their future adjustment and reducing the chance of successful intervention later.

CATCHING THEM BEFORE TOO MUCH DAMAGE IS DONE: EARLYINTERVENTION WITH RESISTANCE-REFUSAL DYNAMICSLyn R. Greenberg, Lynda Doi Fick, and Hon. Robert A. Schnider