Good court performance in child protection court proceedings: Perspectives from multiple courtroom stakeholders in a Southeastern state

This qualitative study explores good court performance for child welfare case managers in child protection court proceedings in a Southeastern state. We interviewed 44 child protection court proceedings-related stakeholders, representing five key roles (i.e., case managers, case manager supervisors, attorneys, judges, and court liaisons) in the child protection court system. NVivo 14.0 was used to facilitate a thematic analysis in order to identify good court performance among child welfare case managers. Results suggest that good court performance in child protection court proceedings includes (1) presenting a professional appearance and behavior; (2) possessing and demonstrating in-depth knowledge of the case; (3) bringing physical documents to the stand or court; and (4) demonstrating strong testimony skills. The results of this study imply that elements of good court performance have significant implications for training child welfare case managers and preparing them to improve their court performance. Directions for future research were discussed.