Courts across Indiana are finding new ways to evaluate and improve outcomes for children in their counties through the use of a new application on INcite, CIP Timeliness Measures. The application was created through funding from the Court Improvement Program (CIP).
The Court Improvement Program is a federal grant program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth and Families. The program was established in 1994 as a response to the dramatic increase in child abuse and neglect cases and the expanded role of courts in achieving stable, permanent homes for children in foster care. Indiana has participated in the Court Improvement Program since its inception. The Indiana Supreme Court has established an Executive Committee to supervise the operation of the program in Indiana. In addition to the Executive Committee, the Court Improvement Program is guided by the Child Welfare Improvement Committee. The committee meets regularly to help formulate strategic plans, plan Court Improvement Program events, and provide input regarding child welfare issues involving the courts.
CIP operates out of the Indiana Judicial Center. CIP collects data under Indiana Administrative Rule 1(F), which requires counties to submit quarterly reports on the child welfare cases closed that quarter. From those reports, CIP measures several categories of data to determine the effectiveness of Indiana’s child welfare systems. The measures include time to permanency, time to termination of parental rights filing and completion, and the dates of permanency hearings.
A new application developed by Trial Court Technology staff can automatically pull the required data from courts using the Quest or Odyssey Case Management System (CMS). Courts using other systems must manually collect and provide this data to the application. However, even for users of other case management systems, CIP’s application offers tools that allow counties to evaluate their performance in the past quarter against their data for previous quarters, or even against the state’s average numbers. This data allows courts to determine which benchmarks are most problematic and adjust their practices to address the particular metrics in question.
Judge Dana Kenworthy of the Grant Superior Court 2 found that the application allowed her to identify a persistent problem with her court’s process regarding the timely submission of proposed orders to the Court. By addressing this issue, Judge Kenworthy improved the timeliness of permanency hearings in her court.
“I now have a better understanding of the caseload and timelines, and feel much more in control of the management of these cases,” said Judge Kenworthy. “At the end of the day, I want to know that I’m doing everything necessary to ensure that ‘the system’ is not a hindrance to permanency for these children.”
Bartholomew Circuit Court Magistrate Heather Mollo saw similar benefits in the new application.
“The CIP Timeliness Measures capture how well the court is meeting permanency requirements and goals,” said Mollo. “They provide useful information so that the court can take action to find and improve the processes in managing a CHINS case. Each improvement will have benefit for the children we serve.”
CIP hopes that the new application becomes a crucial tool in Indiana’s ongoing effort to serve the needs of children within the child welfare system. Local courts now have more information at their disposal to improve their practices and eliminate those parts of the system that cause consistent delays for permanency.