The Child Protection Court Improvement Program (CIP) is a collaborative effort with several community and government partners aimed at improving processes and long-term outcomes for children and families involved in child protection proceedings.  

This program is supported by a federal CIP grant. As a grantee, Idaho must plan for and implement a minimum of three projects:  

• A project to continuously improve the quality of child welfare court hearings and reviews.  

• A project to continuously improve the quality of legal representation for parents, children and youth or the child welfare agency.  

• A joint project with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to improve specific safety, permanency, or well-being outcomes.  

Idaho’s CIP project areas include improving youth engagement, parent engagement, resource parent engagement, timeliness of hearings, community collaboration and resource development, and the quality of legal representation for children and families.  

Child Protection Committee

The Idaho Supreme Court’s Child Protection Committee is a multidisciplinary task force of judges, attorneys, tribal partners, CASA programs, the Department of Health and Welfare, and individuals with lived experience. Appointed by the Court, the committee recommends improvements to programs, processes, and procedures in child protection cases, with a focus on enhancing long-term outcomes for children and families. 

In FY2025, the committee advanced several key initiatives under the Court Improvement Program (CIP): 

Pathways to Permanency Training Series: In partnership with the Department of Health and Welfare, this statewide effort equips judges and court partners with tools to improve timely permanency outcomes. Training emphasized parent engagement in hearings, and introduced a new guided decision-making tool to help identify strengths and challenges within each family. 

Data Quality Improvements: A comprehensive review and cleanup of more than 85,000 data points, impacting more than 3,000 cases, to ensure reliable information on hearings for federal reporting and policy decisions. 

Updated Resources: The committee is completing a full rewrite of the Child Protection Manual and developing an updated Mini Rule Book to provide clear, current guidance on statutes, rules, and federal law. New bench cards and training also support court personnel in the implementation of recent legislation. Bench cards are available on the Idaho Supreme Court website. 

Through these initiatives, the CP Committee supports Idaho’s implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act, advances timely and accurate hearings, and strengthens the judiciary’s role in ensuring children are protected while families receive fair and effective support. 

Court Education 

In 2025, judges participated in two statewide conferences focused on improving outcomes for children and families. The Children and Families Institute emphasized innovations in child welfare, the impact of child removal, and effective responses for crossover youth, offering new perspectives on balancing child safety with family integrity. 

The Pathways to Permanency Conference centered on timely hearings, permanency goal setting, and prevention services. Judges were introduced to new tools to identify strengths and challenges, supporting data-driven decisions that improve stability and reduce time to permanency. 

Together, these conferences underscored the judiciary’s critical role in protecting children while promoting safe, timely, and lasting family connections. 

Idaho’s Guardian Ad Litem Programs 

Guardians ad litem (GALs) are appointed by the court to represent the best interests of children and youths who come under the purview of the Child Protective Act.   

Each judicial district has at least one nonprofit GAL program available for appointment and a program that serves children in every county. Idaho statutes provides that, when appointed in a child protection case, a volunteer GAL is required to:   

• Conduct an independent factual investigation of the child’s circumstances.  

• File a written report with the appointing court conveying the results of the investigation and the GAL’s recommendations. 

• Advocate for the child’s best interest.   

• Monitor the child’s circumstances throughout the life of the case.  

• Assure that the terms of the court’s orders are being fulfilled and remain in the best interest of the child (Idaho Code 16-1633).  

Idaho’s child protection GAL programs are funded in part by money from a guardian ad litem account, established by I.C. 16-1638. State law directs the Idaho Supreme Court to serve as grant administrator for funds the Legislature appropriates to that account. The Court awards funding to organizations in each of the seven judicial districts to maintain GAL programs and train volunteers to serve as these advocates. GAL programs are eligible to receive a certain percentage of each allocation based on a formula that estimates the need for services in each judicial district.  

For more information on this funding, please visit the Guardian ad Litem Grant Program page.  

For a summary of recent Guardian ad Litem activity, see the FY2025 Idaho Statewide Guardian ad Litem Legislative Report prepared by the GAL/CASA Programs, available under the “Resources” tab of this website.