Child Welfare Court Improvement

This webpage is dedicated to providing substantive and timely information about states' efforts to improve their child welfare court systems. States are undertaking these efforts through the Court Improvement Program (CIP) of the US Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau. The CIP grant program was established in 1994 as a response to the dramatic increase in child abuse and neglect cases and the expanded role of courts in achieving stable, permanent homes for children in foster care.

For more resources on court improvement, visit out Publications webpage here.

To learn more about child welfare court improvement, click on any of the links below:


ABA Child CourtWorks
Background Information on Court Improvement
Court Improvement Factsheet
Overview of Federal Grants to Improve State Courts' Handling of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases
Community Involvement in Court Improvement
Court Improvement: What You Can Do
Community Partnerships for Juvenile Dependency Court Improvement
Brochure on Community Involvement in Court Improvement
Contact Information and Additional Resources
Contact Your State Court Improvement Project
Learn More about the Court Improvement Program from the US Children's Bureau
States With Child Welfare Court Improvement Webpages
Visit Our New National Court Improvement Catalog

Court Improvement Reassessments

Improving State Courts' Performance in Child Protection Cases: User's Manual for Conducting Your Court Reassessment
State Specific Information on CIP Reassessments

Court Improvement Interstate Placement Assessments

Legal Issues for the CIP Assessment of Interstate Child Welfare Proceeding
You can access the audio recording of the 3/10/08 interstate placement assessment CIP conference call by pointing your web browser here. You will need to provide a name, e-mail address, phone and organization to hear the recording
Notes from the March, 10th 2008 teleconference are available here.
State Specific Information on Interstate Placement Assessments

Evaluation on the Court Improvement Program

National Evaluation Abstract Summary
PalTech Homepage
History of CIP and Court Reform
Technical Work Group Members
Conceptual Framework
Review and Synthesis of State and Local Court Reform Evaluations
Review and Synthesis of Existing Court Reform Evaluations
Evaluation Approach within the Study Sites
Long-Term Outcomes of Interest - ASFA Goals
Evaulaubility Assessment Classification System

Substantive Issues in Court Improvement
Best Practices in Child Protection Courts, by Barbara Flicker
Building a Better Court: Measuring and Improving Court Performance and Judicial Workload in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases
Court Improvement for Child Abuse and Neglect Litigation: What Next?
Improving Permanency Hearings: Sample Court Reports and Orders
Using Non-Judicial Staff to Aid Courts in Achieving Permanency for Children
Impact of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) on Judicial Resources and Procedures
Ten Prerequisites for Effective Judicial Implementation of ASFA
Steps and Strategies in Developing a Plan for Improvement
Sample List of Suggested Court Improvement Reforms
The Future of Court Improvement in Child Protection Cases
Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Child Protection Cases

Court Improvement and Child and Family Services Reviews
Sample Memorandum of Understanding: Court-Agency Cooperation on Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSRs)
CFSRs: How Judges, Court Administrators and Attorneys Should be Involved
Appendix to 'How Judges, Court Administrators and Attorneys Should be Involved'
How and Why to Involve Courts in CFSRs: Suggestions for Agency Administrators
What is a Child and Family Services Review (CFSR)?
Top Ten Ways Legal Professionals Can Help with CFSRs
What is a Title IV-E Eligibility Review and How Can Legal Professionals Help?

Using Automated Judicial Performance Measures to Improve Courts
Why We Should Develop Automated Judicial Performance Measures
Basic Computerized Judicial Case Management Tasks for Dependency Cases
Outline of Basic Computerized Judicial Case Management Tasks for Dependency Cases
Sample Court Report Using Automated Performance Data
Planning for Electronic Data Exchanges Between Courts and Child Welfare Agencies

Strategic Planning for CIP projects
Strategic Planning for State CIP Projects
Sample Format and Excerpts From Fictitious CIP Strategic Plan
Related Justice Improvement Links
Read the NCJFCJ's Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases
To Learn about Other Court Reform Efforts, Visit the ABA Coalition for Justice Website
Visit the ABA Unified Family Courts Website
Contact Your State Court Improvement Project