Miller, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act

May 22, 2024

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined Congressman Blake Moore (R-UT) and Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) in introducing the Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act of 2024. This bipartisan bill was introduced to enhance the Court Improvement Program (CIP) so courts can promote quality care and improved outcomes for children and families.

“The Court Improvement Program is critical in helping improve the judicial process for foster care and adoption proceedings. The Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act will help modernize the child welfare system and allow for new technological advancements to increase efficiency and care within the judicial process. These targeted reforms will help more children find loving and safe homes,” said Congresswoman Miller.

“The Court Improvement Program is essential to ensuring courts can best serve children and families in the child welfare system. The Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act of 2024 takes the program a step further by clarifying that courts can and should invest in technology that improves outcomes for children and families and protects against interruptions caused by natural disasters, cyber-attacks, or public health crises,” said Congressman Moore. “I am glad to be working with my colleagues, Rep. Miller and Rep. Chu, on this bipartisan initiative to improve our child welfare system, and I look forward to seeing this bill advance through the Ways and Means Committee.”

“Every child deserves to have a safe and stable home, with parents or guardians who love and support them,” said Congresswoman Chu. “By providing grants to State and Tribal courts to collect data, assess their child welfare and judicial practices and develop improvement plans, and support child welfare legal training and expertise, the Court Improvement Program has a strong record of helping resolve legal cases involving vulnerable children and their families in a timely and effective manner and enhancing child welfare outcomes. That is why I'm co-leading this bipartisan bill, the Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act, to reauthorize and improve upon this critical program. Importantly, our bill will increase access to and modernize legal services through continued flexibility for virtual proceedings, strengthen state court interactions with tribal courts, and increase funding for State and Tribal courts.”

Click here for bill text.

Background:

The Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act would clarify that CIP funds may be used towards technological improvements including technology support for remote hearings, development guidance, and coordination with other agencies on backup approaches to prevent disruption and enable recovery from public health crises, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and more.
The bill will also revamp current state court requirements to better handle foster care and adoption proceedings by allowing state courts to use CIP funds for remote hearing technology and training for judges, attorneys, and other legal personnel to improve parent, family, and youth engagement in child welfare proceedings.
The Court Improvement Program supports Superior Courts in overseeing cases and hearings on child abuse and neglect in a timely manner.
The CIP enhances courts' capabilities in handling child welfare hearings, providing essential training to judges on trauma-informed care and promoting quality care and improved outcomes for children and families.

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