Judicial Citizen Review Panels
 

The Judicial Citizen Review Panel (JCRP) is a program of the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges. Its purpose is to assist judges in determining the most appropriate permanency plan for children in foster care. By law, every child in the State of Georgia who is in foster care must have their cases reviewed either by a Judge or Judicial Citizen Review Panel every six months.

 

The JCRPs consist of a cross-section of volunteers from the community who undergo two days of specialized training from the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to acquaint them with the process of foster care review. Volunteers are also required to complete a criminal history background check. Upon completion of the training, the volunteers are sworn in as officers of the court to act in the best interest of the child.

 

Panel volunteers (known as panel members) serve on one of nine panels, that review monthly cases of children placed into foster care by the Juvenile Court. The Panel’s ultimate task is to review progress of the case for permanency. During panel hearings, panel members meet with Division of Family and Children Services caseworkers, parents, children, other family members, foster parents, service providers, and CASA. Panel Members review the progress of the case to monitor the welfare of the children, to ensure compliance with the court-ordered case plan, and to ensure all necessary services are being provided to the family.  Panel members  also evaluate and make recommendations to DFCS on the progress of a case. Panel members may also seek out community resources that might aid in the strengthening of these families to avoid future involvement with the Court. Panel members then make recommendations to the judge on what should happen next in the case. The judge has final authority in all matters that appear before the JCRP.
 

The Division of Family and Children Services and the Court feel that every child in State custody deserves a safe and permanent home and while every effort should be made for reunification, no child should languish in foster care. Judicial Citizen Review Panels work as a group to review cases in which children are in foster care. The Court will have issued an order designed to reunify the child with family, setting out certain goals for parents, as well as services to be provided by DFCS to help accomplish the goals within a given time frame. Panels meet periodically throughout the life of a case; generally three to five trained volunteers, court staff, CASA, kids, case managers, parents, placement, and any other interested parties, and discuss progress on the case plan. They consider the progress of the parties in meeting their goals and may recommend changes to help parents reunify with their children. The panel also flags cases where there are issues in achieving reunification. This process ensures the appropriate services are being offered, that parents are making efforts to meet the case plan goals and that if necessary, changes to the style of the case are made so children do not languish in foster care.  Juvenile Court has a total of ten Panels that see approximately 350 children in foster care throughout the year.
 

For more information about Judicial Citizen Review Panels, or to be come a Panel Volunteer, contact Kayla Carmichael at 678-493-6253 or email kdcarmichael@cherokeecountyga.gov.

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