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) - Video
Hearing Quality Bench Card Initial Analysis (3/13/24) - Video
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 - Video | 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 - Video
Kinship Providers Panel Discussion (5/24/24) - Video
Kinship & Native Families Panel Discussion (4/26/24) - Video
Kinship Assessment: Questions to Consider & Practical Tips (3/29/24) - Video
Judicial and Probation Considerations & Questions to Better Support Immigrant Children (2/23/24) - Video
Expert Panel Discussion: Kinship (1/26/2024) - Video
Immigration Building Blocks & Issue Spotting Immigration Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence (12/08/2023) - Video
Resources and Strategies to Support Kinship Placements (10/20/2023) - Video
Supporting Children with Immigration Needs: Basic Terms & Considerations (9/22/2023) - Video
Utah Core Principles & Guiding Practices: Kinship Culture (8/26/2023) - Video

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

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