Many child welfare professionals in North Carolina have heard about Safe Babies Courts and the Interdisciplinary Parent Representation Program. These efforts, which aim to enhance outcomes for parents and children involved with child welfare, are supported by a common source: North Carolina's Court Improvement Program (CIP). Courts and child welfare agencies share the same mission — ensuring children achieve safety, permanency, and well-being — and CIP plays an important role in improving how courts handle child abuse and neglect cases.
North Carolina's CIP began in 1995. Federal grant funding is authorized for states to support the CIP to improve court practices for child abuse, neglect, and dependency cases. The purpose of the CIP is to: (1) promote the continuous quality improvement of court processes and legal representation in child welfare proceedings through ongoing data analysis, assessment, interventions, and training, and (2) enhance and expand collaboration to improve outcomes between the judicial branch of state government, the state child welfare agency, and tribes.
Nationally, CIP is expected to support the implementation of three projects that will improve safety, permanency, and well-being:
- A joint project with the state child welfare agency that will improve outcomes
- A quality court hearing project, ensuring due process rights for children and parents
- A quality legal representation project, increasing and improving engagement of families in child welfare cases
North Carolina's CIP Selected Supported Projects
Safe Babies Courts (Joint Project)
Safe Babies Court (SBC) is an evidence-based approach that targets families with children ages 5 and under who are in foster care and at risk of removal. It connects babies, toddlers, and their families involved in child welfare court with intensive support and services designed to promote healthy child development while working to ensure a safe and timely exit from foster care. There are frequent judicial status conferences and family team meetings to provide additional oversight and ensure the family's needs are met, and that the case is not lingering in the court system.
The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC), in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), has worked with local stakeholders, including district court judges and local child welfare agencies, to implement SBC in pilot sites. You can read more about New Hanover County's experience in a previous Practice Notes article, The Safe Babies Court Program: A Model for Collaborative, Family-Centered Child Welfare. Additionally, for updated information within this publication, click here.
Abuse, Neglect, Dependency, and Termination of Parental Rights Manual and Online Training (Quality Court Hearing Project)
The primary purpose of the manual is to provide easily accessible information on laws, procedures, and practices that apply to child welfare proceedings. It is meant to be a useful and reliable reference manual and training tool for judges, social services attorneys, parents' attorneys, guardian ad litem attorney advocates, and others involved in child welfare. The manual combines applicable statutes, relevant case citations, additional resources, and practical explanations for topics. Click the Abuse, Neglect, Dependency, and Termination of Parental Rights Manual to review it.
Online training was designed to provide the same information as in-person training offered by the CIP Training Workgroup and its partners for new child welfare judges and attorneys. By moving to an online format, training can be offered on demand. Online training can also be beneficial for seasoned attorneys who need a refresher and other legal community stakeholders who practice or participate in the child welfare system. Click the NC Child Welfare Court Online Training to learn more.
Interdisciplinary Parent Representation Program (Quality Legal Representation Project)
The Office of the Parent Defender (OPD) is implementing the Interdisciplinary Representation Program (IRP) for North Carolina. Experienced social workers are paired with parent attorneys to strengthen the legal representation of parents involved in child welfare. Social workers promote parent engagement, an understanding of the child welfare process, and connect parents with services tailored to meet their needs. OPD seeks to enhance parent representation, reduce time in foster care, and achieve permanency faster. You can read more about Buncombe County's experience in a previous Practice Notes article, New Program Adds Social Workers to Some Parents' Legal Teams. Additionally, for updated information within this publication, click here.
For more information about the Court Improvement Program, visit the CIP website or contact the Court Improvement Program Manager, Kiesha Crawford.