Southern West Virginia News

On May 22, 2024, 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 aims to enhance the Court Improvement Program (CIP) to 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.

Congressman Moore emphasized the program's role in ensuring courts serve children and families effectively: “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. 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.”

Congresswoman Chu highlighted the importance of providing stable homes for every child: “Every child deserves to have a safe and stable home, with parents or guardians who love and support them. By providing grants to State and Tribal courts to collect data, assess their child welfare and judicial practices, develop improvement plans, support child welfare legal training, expertise, [and] resolve legal cases involving vulnerable children [and their] families in a timely manner [to enhance] child welfare outcomes...our bill will increase access to...modernize legal services through continued flexibility for virtual proceedings,...strengthen state court interactions with tribal courts,...increase funding for State [and] Tribal courts.”

The proposed legislation would clarify that CIP funds may be used towards technological improvements including remote hearing technology support, development guidance, coordination with other agencies on backup approaches to prevent disruption from public health crises, natural disasters or cyber-attacks.

Additionally, it would revamp current state court requirements by allowing state courts to use CIP funds for remote hearing technology as well as training judges, attorneys[,] other legal personnel[,] improving parent[al], family[, youth engagement during] child welfare proceedings.

The CIP supports Superior Courts overseeing cases on child abuse/neglect timely[.] It enhances capabilities handling hearings while providing essential trauma-informed care training promoting quality/improved outcomes among affected parties.