May 2011Vol. 12, No. 4Court Improvement Programs Impact Dependency Courts
Court Improvement Programs (CIPs) have been in place since 1993 when Federal legislation was passed to fund State programs to assess and improve the dependency court process. Since that time, and especially since the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997, State CIPs have implemented a number of reforms, many of which have improved judicial decision-making timeliness and the court experience for children and families.
The March 2011 issue of The Judges’ Page Newsletter presents 14 articles that discuss the impact of CIPs on dependency courts, illustrating innovative programs from around the country. Articles include:
- "Court Improvement in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: A Historical Perspective"
- "CIP Funds Instrumental in Building a Brighter Future for California’s Foster Children"
- "Sustaining Energy for Permanency Planning for Children: Virginia’s Best Practice Courts"
- "Developing Guidelines for Delivering Age-Appropriate Information to Children"
- "CIP Funds Expand CASA Programs, Quality of Advocacy"
- "Examples of Model Court-CIP Collaboration Systems Change Goal Alignment"
- "Web Resources: Court Improvement Programs Issues and Resources"
The Judges’ Page Newsletter is a publication of the National CASA Association in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Find the newsletter on the National CASA Association website:
www.casaforchildren.org/site/c.mtJSJ7MPIsE/b.6567061/k.E460/March_2011.htm