Legal Permanency Isn't Everything: Readdressing The Need For Well‐Being Indicators In Child Protection Courts

Abstract

In recent years, the child welfare system has begun to focus on the overall outcomes of children by looking at overall well-being factors. However, despite this shift by social service practitioners, child protection courts have failed to similarly shift focus onto the long-term outcomes of children and remain focused only on legal permanency. This failure to recognize the importance of overall outcomes and other forms of permanency, such as relational permanence, on the future of system-involved youth can have devastating consequences. This article argues that child protection courts should integrate well-being indicators similar to problem-solving courts in order to have a greater influence on the overall outcome of these children. Key Points for the Family Court Community:• Identifies the importance of well-being indicators and discusses the need for the child welfare system to focus on overall outcomes of children • Addresses a gap between social service practitioners and the child protection court on working towards overall well-being • Educates child protection court and other child welfare actors on the different forms of permanence affecting systeminvolved youth • Discusses therapeutic jurisprudence and how this theory is integrated into problem-solving courts • Offers suggestion for how to integrate well-being indicators into child protection courts