Court Improvement

The Court Improvement Program is funded by a federal grant program provided under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Tennessee Supreme Court received its initial Court Improvement Program grant in 1995. The CIP grant provides funding for Tennessee to assess the role, responsibilities and effectives of juvenile courts in carrying out state laws guiding child welfare proceedings and to implement improvements based on those assessments, including: to provide for the safety, well-being, and timely permanence of children in foster care; to support engagement of families in child welfare cases; and to improve collaboration between the courts and the Department of Children’s Services around data collection and analysis, training, and around Child and Family Services and Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews.

The Court Improvement Program Multidisciplinary Task Force is a statewide multi-disciplinary group appointed by the Supreme Court to review and address issues of safety, permanency and well-being for children and families in the child welfare system.

CONTACT

If you would like further information on the Court Improvement Program, please contact:

Stacy L. Lynch, CIP Director
stacy.lynch@tncourts.gov

Carrie Mason, Ph.D., CIP Attorney 
carrie.mason@tncourts.gov

Rumian Reza, CIP Statistical Research Specialist 
rumian.reza@tncourts.gov 

Elizabeth Whitt,  CIP Administrative Assistant 
elizabeth.whitt@tncourts.gov