Present: Judge Sonja Clapp, Chair Judge Todd Cresap, via telephone Judge David Reich, via telephone Dennis Herbeck Robin Huseby Karen Kringlie Tara Muhlhauser, via telephone Dale Rivard Bob Rutten
Absent: Judge Richard Grosz Lee Ann Barnhardt Scott Davis Connie Portscheller
Staff: Louis Hentzen Catie Palsgraaf
Judge Clapp called the meeting to order. She asked for comments on the minutes from the March 10,
2011 meeting. Dennis Herbeck moved to approve the minutes; Karen Kringlie seconded. Minutes
approved.
Sub-Committee Reports
GAL Sub-Committee – Dennis Herbeck, Chair. At the March meeting HB 1078 relating to immunity of the lay guardian ad litem had passed the legislature and was awaiting the Governor’s signature. The bill was signed into law.
Dale Rivard asked if any areas of the state need GAL coverage. Dennis and Louie Hentzen were
unaware of any shortages. Dale believed Grand Forks had a limited number and could use more. Dennis
will inquire of the director of the program and send an email to the committee.
Dennis asked if the committee has identified anything needed from the sub-committee, such as an assessment of the GAL program. A survey was completed, but it was unknown if a report has been compiled from the survey information. Louie said he may need a report for the CIP grant process.
ICWA Sub-Committee – Judge Cresap and Connie Portscheller, Co-Chairs. Judge Cresap has not
received an updated list of the ICWA sub-committee members. Louie will ask Lana to send the list to
Judge Cresap.
Judge Cresap and Connie intend go through the data gathered previously. Dennis or Louie will send survey results to Judge Cresap and Connie. Tara Muhlhauser asked if a report was compiled of the ICWA data. Judge Clapp said final report was dated 11/2010, but while that data was useful, the sub-committee will want to make sure it was a fair and accurate survey. Dennis said it was an effort to gather information, but may not have covered everything it should have or could have. The sub-committee
discovered that after data collection started, they began asking more questions and also created more
questions. The new chairs will want to take a look at the data and decide if they want to go further, or if they are generally satisfied with the results. Karen Kringlie reported that some of the areas identified in the survey have been addressed, for example better identification of ICWA cases. Now Odyssey has a file flag specifically for ICWA with the ability to run reports based on the flag.
Tara explained that her federal liaison is asking the report. Judge Cresap said the report was an internal process to use as a starting point for the committee’s own use. There was no expectation of scientific accuracy. Dennis said it may be possible to release the report but it would need some sort of disclaimer. Tara said she would direct her federal liaison to Louie for information about the report. Judge Clapp said she will get the report out to sub-committee for the Co-Chairs to review and determine next steps.
Education Sub-Committee – Robin Huseby, Chair. Upcoming educational opportunities are as follows:
a. CFS Conference – July 25-28, 2011 in Bismarck. b. NCJFCJ Annual Conference - July 24-27, 2011 in New York. c. 14th Bi-Annual ABA National Conference on Children and the Law - July 2011
Fall 2011 Judicial Conference - A session related to Child Welfare for the judges will be planned.
Lee Ann Barnhardt is planning regional workshops for Fall/Winter 2011-2012 on child welfare issues. She is considering monthly brown bag seminars/webinars of 1 hour on a particular child welfare related topic.
Karen reported on the Juvenile Justice Conference in June 2011 in Bismarck. The speakers and the conference were a success.
Data Collection and Analysis Sub-Committee – Karen Kringlie, Chair. The sub-committee has
experienced a total turnover in participants. Karen is planning to meet with the sub-committee in July.
Karen asked Tara Muhlhauser for a DHS representative. Tara is planning to nominate Becky Brockel,
data analyst, and asked Karen to pass the sub-committee info to her and she will then pass it on to Becky.
Karen reported Units 3 and 4 went live on Odyssey since the last committee meeting. She was in the process of looking at placement reports and hoped to have a report for September’s meeting.
Review of ABA Standards for Judicial Excellence
Judge Clapp asked if the committee can wait until September to finish the last part of section C. Louie
said the Chief Justice did not set a specific timeline. Louie asked all group leaders to supply their info to Catie Palsgraaf who will gather into a document for the committee to review. This will be a good way to determine topics for the fall/winter regional workshops. Lee Ann needs a day to meet and review Section D, then the document should be ready to review before the next committee meeting in September. Louie and Lee Ann will send out a notice to the committee of the Section D webinar. Anticipate either
7/8/2011 or 7/22/2011.
CIP Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.
Louie reported on the annual meeting in Washington D.C. in May 2011. The North Dakota attendees consisted of Connie Portscheller, Cory Pedersen, Louis Hentzen, Lee Ann Barnhardt and Catie Palsgraaf.
The eligibility criteria for the next series of grant monies will likely be different than in the past and
include an increase in evaluation of the quality of state CIP efforts. More emphasis on justification may
be involved in application process.
Catie Palsgraaf reported on the data break-out session North Dakota attended. Each state was assigned one of 4 different measurements from the toolkit. North Dakota was assigned time and timeliness to adjudication. Prior to the annual meeting, deprivation petition filings in ECJD and SCJD for calendar 2010 were reviewed and a data summary was prepared. One of the questions the North Dakota group identified for possible further review was whether meeting statutory timelines equated to achieving timely permanence.
Dale Rivard inquired about the frequency and reason for continuances discovered during the adjudication review. Catie responded that most continuances appeared to be procedural, parents requesting representation, delay in notice to a party, etc. However, she was unable to easily determine the reason for continuances due to inconsistent reporting in Odyssey. Judge Clapp asked if it would be helpful to include the reason for the continuance in Odyssey. Louie responded that in the near future, continuances will be charged to the plaintiff, defendant or the court. So, the reason for continuances will be helpful, but will also be contingent on what the clerk enters in Odyssey.
Grant News The CIP grant process is changing so all three grants can be submitted on one request and with one combined strategic plan. Lee Ann Barnhardt will be contacting each of the Chairs to go over the strategic plan. Louie will send Karen Kringlie the strategic plan for the Data Collection and Analysis Sub-Committee.
The grant and strategic plan must be submitted in October 2011 and the Administrative Council must approve both before submission. The Administrative Council meets August 26, 2011, so the grant and strategic plan must be final prior to this date.
For Good of the Order
A motion was made by Robin Huseby to adjourn the meeting. Karen Kringlie seconded. Meeting adjourned.