Utah's Court Improvement Program
About Utah's Court Improvement Program
The Court Improvement Program (CIP) was created as part of the Omnibus and Reconciliation Act of 1993, Public Law 103-55. CIP is administered by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth and Families. CIP provides funding and guidance to state court systems to develop and implement plans for improvement in the management of child welfare cases.
The Administrative Office of the Utah State Courts administers three CIP grants in accordance with federal guidelines and requirements. The basic CIP grant program was expanded in 2006, adding components for training and data collection and analysis. Utah's CIP is governed by the Court Improvement Program Committee and its executive committee, the Statewide Table of Six. From its inception, CIP has made measurable improvements in Utah's child welfare system, including:
- Model child welfare court programs
- CARE/SAFE Interface
- Statewide and regional cross-discipline trainings
- Expedited child welfare appeals
- Dually-Involved Youth
- Education of Children in State's Care
- Indian Child Welfare
- Kinship
Training Resources
- Chafee Grant Training (6/27/24) -
- Hearing Quality Bench Card Initial Analysis (3/13/24) -
- American Indian Strengthening Families Program - PowerPoint
- Anyone You Want Me to Be - PowerPoint
- Children in the Courtroom - PowerPoint
- Communication Tools to Help You Tap into Their Story - PowerPoint
- Courtroom Etiquette - | MP3 Audio
- Drug Testing 101 (Gwen McMillin Ph.D) - PowerPoint
- Dual-Adjudication Youth - PDF
- Father Involvement - PDF
- Health Implications for Drug Endangered Children - PDF
- Hearing Quality Training
- Impact of Opiods on Children - PDF
- Pharmaceutical Awareness - PDF
- State of Utah's Children in Care - PowerPoint
- The Good and Bad Adoptions - PowerPoint
- The Health of Children in Utah's Child Welfare System - PowerPoint
- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act - PowerPoint | MP3 Audio
Webinars
- Supporting Kinship Placement: Family-Finding & Licensing Considerations for Non-Citizen Families -
- Kinship Providers Panel Discussion (5/24/24) -
- Kinship & Native Families Panel Discussion (4/26/24) -
- Kinship Assessment: Questions to Consider & Practical Tips (3/29/24) -
- Judicial and Probation Considerations & Questions to Better Support Immigrant Children (2/23/24) -
- Expert Panel Discussion: Kinship (1/26/2024) -
- Immigration Building Blocks & Issue Spotting Immigration Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence (12/08/2023) -
- Resources and Strategies to Support Kinship Placements (10/20/2023) -
- Supporting Children with Immigration Needs: Basic Terms & Considerations (9/22/2023) -
- Utah Core Principles & Guiding Practices: Kinship Culture (8/26/2023) -
Court Improvement Summit
- 2022 Court Improvement Summit
- 2020 Court Improvement Summit
- 2018 Court Improvement Summit
- 2016 Court Improvement Summit
- 2014 Court Improvement Summit
- 2012 Court Improvement Summit
Indian Child Welfare Resources
- Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 - PDF
- ICWA Regulations - Final Rule, effective 12/12/2016 - PDF
- Solicitor's Memorandum: Implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act by Legislative Rule, dated 06/08/2016. "This Memorandum identifies the authority for the promulgation of the Department of the Interior's ("Department's") Indian Child Welfare Act ("ICWA" or "the Act") final rule." - PDF
- Guidelines for State Courts and Agencies in Indian Child Custody Proceedings, effective December 2016 - PDF
- BIA Designated Tribal Agents for Service of Notice, effective 03/08/2017 - PDF
- CIP ICWA Guide - PDF
- 2017 NCJFCJ ICWA Judicial Benchbook - PDF
Utah Indian Child Welfare Conferences
- 2018 Utah Indian Child Welfare Conference
- 2016 Utah Indian Child Welfare Conference
- 2017 Utah Indian Child Welfare Conference
Parent Videos
These videos tell the story of three brave parents and how they overcame many obstacles to get their kids back. The goal of the videos is to show parents what to expect during their child welfare case in court. We also hope to inspire parents to reunify with their children.
Navigating Your Child Welfare Case
- A Guide for Parents Involved in the Utah Juvenile Court System (English) - YouTube
- Cómo actuar cuando se tiene un caso de bienestar de menores (Spanish subtitles) - YouTube
- A Collaborative Approach in Court - YouTube
- Kinship Placement - YouTube
- Mediation - YouTube
- The Child and Family Plan - YouTube
The videos were produced by the Court Improvement Program in partnership with the Parental Defense Alliance of Utah.
Navigating the Juvenile Court - Delinquencies
- Navigating the Juvenile Court - Delinquencies - YouTube
- Navigating the Juvenile Court - Delinquencies (Español) - YouTube
Contact Information
Annie Valdez
CIP Program Director
450 South State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 578-3939