Georgia's Council of Juvenile Court Judges has selected Fulton County Juvenile Court to be one of the state's first "Model Courts."

The goal of the Model Court Project is to prevent further victimization of abused and neglected children by improving court policies and practices. The nationwide model court campaign was initiated in response to the Child Victims Act and the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

The project has established resource guidelines for courts to help them comply with federal laws and additional aspirational principles.

In Georgia, the Model Courts Project is a two-year, grant-funded project aimed at developing model courts in the counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton. The project, begun in January 2000, assessed each of these court systems and selected the Fulton and Cobb County juvenile courts to be lead courts.

In order to increase its effectiveness, the Fulton County Juvenile Court is working to improve interagency collaboration and communication, limit the number of continuances granted, and help parties to better understand the system and their rights.

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