Chief Judge cites "dramatic" improvement in child welfare cases

The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court says there’s been a “dramatic” improvement in the speed with which judges are deciding child welfare cases involving the termination of parental rights. Chief Justice Louis Lavorato says they’ve more than cut in half the amount of time it takes to get a termination of parental rights case through appeals, which reduces the amount of time children spend in foster care, so they can be put up for adoption. Lavorato says a process that used to take about 13 months, on average, is now completed within about four months. He says the judges regard their work with troubled families as one of the most important things they do. Lavorato says the longer a case continues, the more stress on the child.