Role of the courts

It is important to know what the courts can do and cannot do in the area of abused and neglected children. Often the Family Court is listed as an agency. It is not an agency. It is part of the court system. Its operation is circumscribed by the concept of being a real court. For a long time there was a theory that the Family Court or Juvenile Court could be a kind of social work oriented operation, not quite a real court, not truly a social work agency. This concept has been abandoned. The Family Court is a court of record and is in all aspects a court. It is dependent in the action it takes on evidence which must conform to strict rules that are laid down. It is an adversary proceeding. It is not enough to produce a child that looks as if it has been beaten. A judge in the Family Court also has before him the person who may be charged with having beaten the child. That person, be it a parent or guardian, is entitled to counsel, to help in his defense. The adversary process then takes place. Persons bring forth evidence to show that the parent did abuse the child. The parent is enabled under the court system to bring forth before the judge evidence that he or she did not do it. It is then up to the judge to give this evidence due weight and make a decision as to whether or not the allegations have been proven.