Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
4 <br />Termination of Pazental Rights petitions be filed on behalf of all children who have been <br />in foster care for 15 out of 22 months unless there is a cleaz reason not to proceed. <br />The second event of importance for children in the dependency/delinquency system <br />is the work of the Governor's Commission on Juvenile Crime. The Commission <br />produced a lengthy report with a number of recommendations for dealing with juvenile <br />offenders and for revising the Juvenile Code. The proposed revisions in the Juvenile <br />Code are aimed at clarifying procedures in both Dependency Court and Delinquency <br />Court. These provisions will expand the definitions of abuse and neglect and will <br />increase the emphasis on speed and safety in permanency planning for children. These <br />reports and proposals are now before the General Assembly. <br />These likely changes in the laws that affect North Cazolina children will have an <br />Impact on the systems that serves them. For example, the focus on expediting <br />permanence for children by termination of their parent rights will increase the number <br />of older children who will be freed for adoption and will be in need of adoptive homes. <br />This will therefore create a need for expanded adoption services to prepaze children <br />for permanence who may have suffered from a variety of behavioral and emotional <br />problems. The laws also recommend more frequent judicial reviews to speed the <br />process to permanence which will require the increased need for attorney time both in <br />court and for legal consultation. <br />