PHC Basics

Pre-hearing conferences, or PHCs, are often the parties’ first opportunity to discuss critical topics. Their purpose is to establish trust between the parties and begin meaningful discussions.

Pre-hearing conference facilitators need to remain calm and objective, ensure the parties are respectful of each other and promote an open, neutral environment. Facilitators provide structure to the discussions by focusing on the critical topics of placement of the children, family time, services for the family and conditions of return. Pre-hearing conferences help the parties determine whether the children can return home immediately or, if not, where the children will live, what family time and visitation will look like and what conditions need to be met before the children can return home safely and as soon as possible.

PHCs are conversations about these critical topics designed to develop a plan to reunite the family. At the time of a PHC, every party’s goal is to work towards family reunification in all but the most severe cases. Thus, it is an excellent time to build a team to create a case plan. Ideally, productive discussions will continue and evolve throughout a DN case based on the groundwork established during a PHC.

PHC Pilot Court Era (2013-2023)

Montana pre-hearing conferences were initially piloted in the Yellowstone County courtroom of the Honorable Judge Ingrid Gustafson, who has since become a justice on the Montana Supreme Court. Experienced personnel from Pima County, Arizona, provided initial training for the PHC pilot project. PHCs quickly spread to other courtrooms in Yellowstone County and then, with assistance from the Montana Court Improvement Program (CIP), to other District Courts throughout Montana.

The PHC pilot court project sought to improve the outcomes and timelines for dependent neglect, or DN, cases. These goals were reached through a collaborative team approach involving various stakeholders, including child protection specialists (CPS), attorneys, guardians ad litem (GAL), court appointed special advocates (CASA), tribal representatives and, importantly, the parents and guardians.

During the pilot court project era, PHCs were set before the first court appearance. At that time, show cause hearings were usually the first court appearances. Show cause hearings were held within 20 days of the filing of the initial petition and affidavit. Thus, PHCs were generally set about 20 days after a DN case was filed with a District Court or about 27 days after a child’s removal, since court cases were and continue to be filed about a week after the children's removals.

The 2025 Montana legislature has since moved show cause hearings to within 21 days of the filing of the petition and affidavit, not 20 days.

Beginning in 2020, some courtrooms in Yellowstone and Flathead counties began piloting earlier initial court hearings called emergency protective services (EPS) hearings. Those hearings were scheduled within five business days of the children’s removal. PHCs in those specific pilot courts were held shortly before the EPS hearings.

The PHC pilot court project achieved its goals of improving the outcomes and timelines for dependent neglect, or DN, cases. There was a significant improvement in the reunification rates for families, and the time to permanency for children decreased.

Statewide PHCs and EPS Hearings (beginning on July 1, 2023)

In 2023, based in part on the EPS hearing pilot project from Yellowstone and Flathead counties, the Montana Legislature drafted a new law establishing statewide emergency protective services (EPS) hearings. By law, these hearings must be held within five business days of a child’s removal. During an EPS hearing, the court primarily determines whether the child’s removal should continue beyond that hearing.

Based partly on the success of the PHC pilot project, the 2023 Legislature also made PHCs available to parents in all DN cases, thus ending the PHC pilot court era and making PHCs accessible statewide by law. In 2025, the Legislature clarified that PHCs must be held in all DN cases before EPS hearings and within five business days of a child’s removal.

The following are key changes that have occurred since PHCs began in Montana:

2014

After initial success, pre-hearing conferences quickly spread to other courtrooms in Yellowstone County.

Similar conferences known as “Intervention Conferences” had already been established in Missoula County for several years.

2015

The Montana Court Improvement Program provided assistance and funding for pre-hearing conference facilitators to expand the pilot project to Flathead, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, Park, and Cascade counties.

2020

The Court Improvement Program provided assistance and funding for pre-hearing conference facilitators for the expansion of the pilot project to Butte-Silver Bow County.

Some courtrooms in Yellowstone and Flathead counties began piloting earlier initial hearings called emergency protective services (EPS) hearings, held within five business days of a child’s removal. PHCs were conducted shortly before these EPS hearings in those specific courtrooms.

2021

A study of the PHC pilot project was conducted by Dr. Alicia Summers of the Capacity Building Center for Courts, analyzing data from Gallatin, Flathead, and Lewis and Clark counties. The study found that PHCs led to a 9% higher reunification rate and significantly reduced the time needed to reach permanency in DN cases.

2022

The Court Improvement Program provided assistance and funding for pre-hearing conference facilitators for the expansion of the pilot project to the Fifth and Seventh Judicial Districts.

2023

Between the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, interim committees and workgroups focused on DN cases and child welfare. The Legislature passed a bill during the 2023 session, which the governor signed into law and became effective on July 1, 2023. MCA 41-3-307. This law made PHCs available to all parents with a DN case in Montana, thus ending the pilot project phase and integrating PHCs into regular DN case processes.

The Legislature also passed a bill, later signed into law, establishing early court hearings known as emergency protective services (EPS) hearings. These hearings are held within five business days of a child’s removal. PHCs were made available before EPS hearings, representing a significant change in Montana law regarding the timing and initial process for DN cases.

Additionally, the Legislature established the right to an attorney for all children with DN cases in Montana.

2025

The Montana Legislature passed a bill that was later signed into law by the Governor, clarifying that PHCs must be held before EPS hearings and within five business days of a child’s removal from their home.

PHC facilitators were added to the list of recipients of the “Notice of Removal” within 24 hours of the removal.

Children’s attorneys were added to the list of individuals who must be included in PHCs.

The following course is designed to assist PHC facilitators in developing an ongoing procedure for PHCs in their jurisdiction¹ based on historical PHC practices and considering the structure and purpose of the new laws.

Definitions

Jurisdiction - The territory within which a court or government agency may properly exercise its power. ↩ Back to reference