Court Improvement Program
Striving to Improve Montana's Court Process for Children in Resource Care
In response to a dramatic increase in child abuse and neglect cases and the expanded role of the courts in achieving stable, permanent homes for children in resource care, Congress created the Court Improvement Program in 1993. Resource care was previously called "foster care."
The Court Improvement Program aims to improve court practice in child abuse and neglect cases so that the three goals of safety, permanence and well-being for each child are achieved in a fair and timely manner. Well-being is defined by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 as factors that relate to a child’s current and future welfare, most notably the child’s educational achievement and mental and physical health.
The Court Improvement Program is federally funded by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth, and Families Division. The program is the federal government’s attempt to understand what works best in the court arena. The Children’s Bureau supports courts in their efforts to ensure secure, permanent homes for children in resource care and to improve their effectiveness in achieving permanency.
eLearning Courses
