2nd Edition of Groundbreaking Book for Juvenile and Family Court Judges

Reasonable Efforts: A Judicial Perspective, 2^nd Edition (2022, hardcover, 600+ pages)

From the Foreword by the Hon. Michael Nash (ret.), Executive Director of the Los Angeles Office of Child Protection:

… For decades, Judge Edwards has been the conscience and the voice for juvenile court judges nationwide.  He has helped define and shape our role more than any other juvenile court judge ever.  Once again, he has raised his voice to emphasize the importance of this part of our role in more depth than has ever been done before.  State by state, Judge Edwards reviews the statutory scheme on reasonable efforts, the existing case law on the subject and offers commentary from judges, attorneys, and other child welfare system stakeholders …

There is new material throughout the book—material that will hopefully assist judges in implementing meaningful oversight of social service actions as well as fulfilling their role as the community’s voice for the children appearing in juvenile court. Attorneys will also benefit from learning about reasonable efforts issues that have been raised in other jurisdictions as will appellate justices who encounter these issues regularly in appellate briefs. The ultimate goal of this book is to raise the level of practice so that children and families within the child welfare system will benefit.

The book considers the reasonable efforts finding from a number of perspectives including:

1. It reviews the history of the reasonable efforts concept
2. It explains the legal requirements on children’s services agencies
3. It discusses the failure of federal legislation to define reasonable efforts and its impact
4. It examines the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and “active efforts”
5. It examines barriers that limit a judge or attorney’s ability to address the issue

This new edition is made possible by the generous support of the Casey Family Programs and is published by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the nation’s largest and oldest judicial membership organization.

To purchase a copy from the NCJFCJ, please email contactus@ncjfjc.org or visit ncjfcj.org/reasonable-efforts.

Guest Interview Podcast on The Imprint, May 9, 2022

[First edition remains available for a limited time]