Judge Leonard Edwards, '66, Reasonable Efforts: A Judicial Perspective
‘Reasonable Efforts: A Judicial Perspective’ Releases Second Edition to Update Juvenile Courts on Meaningful Oversight of Social Service Actions
Judge Leonard Edwards (Ret.), former Santa Clara County judge, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the nation’s largest and oldest judicial membership organization, have announced the second edition of the book, “Reasonable Efforts: A Judicial Perspective 2nd Edition.”
The first edition was widely distributed in 2014. This second edition focuses on new laws that have passed to continue to address the reasonable efforts issue in child welfare court proceedings. Reasonable efforts are efforts made to preserve and reunify families prior to the placement of a child in foster care, to prevent or eliminate the need for removing the child from his or her home, and to make it possible for a child to return safely to his or her home. The new edition addresses timely issues that affect oversight of social services in a community as well as national trends.
“Juvenile court judges have a different role than other judges within the judiciary, not only on the bench, but in the community,” said Judge Edwards. “Judges are the strongest voice for at-risk children in our respective communities. If significant changes are going to be made in child welfare and juvenile justice, juvenile court judges must be part of the leadership team making those changes. No one else in our communities has the perspective that juvenile court judges have.”
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