Court Improvement Program
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia established the West Virginia Court Improvement Program Oversight Board in 1995. This Board took over the Broadwater Committee’s work to improve outcomes for children and families in child abuse and neglect cases. The Court established the Broadwater Committee in the mid-1990s during Chief Justice Margaret Workman’s previous tenure on the Supreme Court, from 1988 to 1999.
The Court Improvement Program Board was created as a result of the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. That act designated federal funding beginning in fiscal year 1995 for grants to state court systems to assess their foster care laws and judicial processes and to develop and implement a plan for system improvement. The Oversight Board is the multidisciplinary advisory group and task force to implement the program in West Virginia. The U.S. DHHS Administration for Children and Families continues to fund the program annually. Judge C. Carter Williams of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit (Hampshire, Hardy, and Pendleton Counties) is the chair of the Oversight Board.
The mission of the West Virginia Court Improvement Program is to advance practices, policies, and laws that improve the safety, timely permanency, and well-being of children and due process for families in child abuse/neglect and juvenile cases.
The Court Improvement Program Oversight Board and Committees
- Court Improvement Program (CIP) Oversight Board is a multidisciplinary group that meets quarterly.
Members of the CIP Oversight Board include professionals from state and local courts. The West Virginia state welfare agency, DHHR, is represented by the Cabinet Secretary and representatives from Quality Assurance/Continuous Quality Improvement, Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP)/Annual Progress Services Report (APSR), Bureau of Children and Families Commissioner, DHHR- BCF agency attorney, Training and the Title IV-E program.
In addition, other representatives include professionals who serve as parent’s attorneys; children’s attorneys and/or guardian ad litems; representatives from Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA); mental health/behavioral health treatment providers; substance abuse treatment providers; domestic violence programs; and the WV Department of Education.
The CIP Oversight Board is responsible for the joint review and discussion of child welfare outcome data on court-involved youth and families. They examine what the data may mean and how court or attorney practice may be contributing to such data.
Further, the CIP Oversight Board monitors and reviews CIP goals, identifies opportunities for interventions, and organizes CIP involvement in program planning and improvement efforts with the Title IV-E/IV-B agency.
The CIP Board assigns some of these duties and tasks to its five supporting committees. - The Youth and Family Services Committee is charged with studying the systems, interventions, and treatment of youth in child abuse and neglect and child welfare cases. Time limited project oversight groups and issue-specific work groups are under the purview of this committee. Active work groups include those below and are described in relation to their projects on the Projects tab.
- Title IV-E eligibility language,
- Family Treatment Courts,
- Away from Supervision,
- Missing from Care,
- Out-of-Home Education,
- Using the MDT as a tool for Quality Hearings, and
- New View.
- The Community Outreach and Education Committee is tasked with planning and implementing statewide and local trainings to educate all child welfare professionals. This group arranges judge-led stakeholder sessions and actively seeks partners for community outreach support.
- The Data Research Committee examines cross systems data to identify opportunities for improvement and to support activities carried out by the Court Improvement Program. Specifically, this committee examines data from multiple sources in an effort to identify trends and emerging topics related to child abuse and neglect and juvenile welfare. This committee also performs root cause analysis and further research on identified topics and issues and provides information as requested by the other CIP committees and/or Oversight Board to help carry out mission-related work.
- The Systemic Change Committee is an ad hoc committee that focuses on maintaining compliance with the federal child welfare laws and updating West Virginia’s statutes and rules. This committee will develop and advocate for legislation that will ensure compliance with federal code. Committee members will be selected as appropriate based on current topics addressed.
- The Child Protections Across Court Systems (CPACS) Committee focuses on the overlap between family courts and circuit courts in child abuse and neglect hearings. This is an ad hoc committee. As issues or topics arise that require the attention of this committee, it will convene.
Court Improvement Program Staff
- Gabe Conley, CIP Field Coordinator, Cross Systems Liaison
- Amy Sadler, Court Improvement Program Assistant Field Coordinator
- Kandi Greter, Community Outreach and Education Manager
- Brenda Hoylman, Child Welfare/Juvenile Justice Manager, Cross Systems Liaison
- Andria Jones, CIP Project Manager
- Stacie Mullins, CIP Resource Coordinator
- Lorri Stotler, Administrative Specialist
For more information about the Court Improvement Program, contact
Cindy Largent-Hill
Director, Children and Juvenile Services
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Administrative Office
Capitol Building 1, Room E-100
1900 Kanawha Blvd. E.
Charleston, WV 25305
304-558-6847
Fax: (304) 558-0775
Email: Cindy Largent-Hill
