Forensic Evaluators
What is CIP?
The Court Improvement Program (CIP) is a federally funded program through the Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. The purpose of the CIP is to promote the continuous quality improvement of: (1) child welfare court hearings and reviews; (2) legal representation for parents, children, youth and the state child welfare agency responsible for administering titles IV-B and IV-E of the Act; and (3) collaboration between the judicial branch of state government, the title IV-B/IV-E agency and tribes to improve child welfare outcomes.
Who is eligible to file a travel claim following a CIP training?
Judges, CIP staff, contract attorneys and other professionals with CIP approval.
How far away does my duty station have to be to come to CIP training a day early?
In order to claim overnight status one’s duty station must be at least 140 miles from the training site.
How do I get more copies of the Parent Guardian Handbooks?
Contact Felice Hamilton at (405) 556-9825 or felice.hamilton@oscn.net
Where can I find the juvenile bench book on OSCN?
The juvenile bench book is not available to the public on OSCN. The materials are available to Judges via OCIS.
What happens if I miss the CIP conference and still need to get my MJCLE?
There are videos available to view on the Training page, and signed affidavits for judicial credit.
How can I join the CIP taskforce?
For information regarding the OK CIP Multidisciplinary Taskforce contact Felice Hamilton, OK CIP Director, at felice.hamilton@oscn.net
Where can I get a copy of the ICWA Bench book?
The ICWA Bench Book is located both on the OKCCIP website and through the OCIS Legal Research page.
I have a new deputy court clerk, is there training available for entering the codes on juvenile cases?
Formal training is in the process of being developed by the Training Department. Until that training is available contact Tim Scott, Juvenile Court Project Specialist for assistance tim.scott@oscn.net.
How do I complete the juvenile forms in court?
There are three versions of Juvenile Deprived Uniform Orders found on OCSN. They are available in an Excel Workbook, Word and PDF versions. Contact Tim Scott, Juvenile Court Project Specialist at tim.scott@oscn.net for assistance.
If I have a new attorney, where do I send him for juvenile CLE so he can practice in my county?
Contact Oklahoma Lawyers for Children (405) 232-4453, Tulsa Lawyers for Children (918) 425-5858 or the Oklahoma Bar Association. The CIP keeps recordings of prior conferences or trainings that may also be accessed. Contact Felice Hamilton (405) 556-9825.
Who are the Child Permanency mediators and what training do they receive?
Early Settlement mediators are community volunteers who received the following training:
- Basic Civil (20 hours)
- Family and Divorce (40 hours)
- Child Permanency (8 hours)
When is the best time to send a case to Child Permanency Mediation?
- Use it at the beginning, prior to an adjudication.
- Use it at 6 months to resolve issues with engaging in individual service plans.
- Use it when permanency goals are going to change from reunification to adoption.
Can a case be sent to Mediation just prior to a Jury Trial to terminate parental rights?
Yes, however, understand that there are very limited options on reaching a consensus recommendation at that time in a case.
What are the limited options when sending a case to mediation just prior to a trial?
- The State learns new information to could cause them to withdraw a petition to terminate parental rights and give parties more time to complete their treatment plan.
- Parents and all parties agree to a Guardianship.
- Parents decide to relinquish their parental rights, which may include conversations on possible future contact.
- Parents decide to proceed to jury trial. The group can discuss options available if parental rights are voluntarily terminated or involuntarily terminated.