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Statewide ChINS judge emphasizes timely hearings and backlog reduction to protect child permanency
Summary
Judge Howard Kalsas, the judiciary’s statewide Children In Need of Care or Supervision (ChINS) judge, told the retention panel his role tracks every pending ChINS case statewide, prioritizes statutorily required hearings and coordinates to reduce placements out of the home and speed permanency
Judge Howard Kalsas told the Judicial Retention Committee he serves as the judiciary’s first statewide ChINS judge and that the position was created to reduce backlog and secure timely hearings in juvenile matters.
Kalsas explained that ChINS (children in need of care or supervision) cases include abuse, neglect, abandonment, truancy or unmanageability and that federal, state and court timeframes shape the docket. He described a spreadsheet he keeps of every pending ChINS case statewide, tracking statutory milestones and the length of time children remain out of parental care. He told the committee that his goal is to prioritize hearings that most affect permanency timelines and to free judges to cover other dockets by handling backlog-sensitive juvenile hearings.
Kalsas said his academic work found a strong correlation between continuances in ChINS cases and the length of time children remain out of parental care; longer continuances increased the risk that parental rights would be terminated. He described practical steps he takes: scheduling longer multi‑day hearings more quickly, covering juvenile dockets when local judges are unavailable (so vacations do not delay hearings) and working with court staff and defense and child‑welfare providers to make hearing calendars available in a timelier way.
Committee members asked about training, humor and courtroom demeanor. Kalsas said he regretted an incident described in attorney comments as a Halloween episode; he told the committee he never intended to mock litigants, apologized for causing distress and said he would be more mindful going forward. He also described significant work to keep juvenile hearings timely and to collaborate with the court administrator on initiatives for efficiency.
Kalsas said the statewide ChINS role allows him to identify systemwide trends and propose improvements; he urged continued support for the position and said it was a legislature-backed authorization meant to address juvenile docket backlog across counties.
