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Judges are the key to court reform in child protection proceedings but legislative mandates cannot guarantee the requisite level of judicial commitment. Lack of full implementation of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 demonstrates that rather than rely on statutory language, court reformers ought to increase judicial understanding of the provisions of federal law through initiatives such as cross‐training. From December 1996 to June 1998, Kentucky's Court Improvement Project delivered 11 regional cross‐training sessions to more than 550 judges, attorneys, social service personnel and other child advocates. Based on a statewide survey, cross‐training increased significantly awareness of federal child protection objectives among the state's judges. Awareness of a policy among those expected to implement it is the first step toward implementation.