Key terms definition
State
The term “state” or “states” is used as a generic term and generally refers to the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and the territories, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Tribes
“Tribe” or “tribes” refers to the tribes on the Department of the Interior’s list of federally recognized tribes.
CIP Staff Size:
Number of staff working under the Court Improvement Program reported through the self-assessments. “Staff size” refers to the number of individual staff working under the grant. It does not refer to the number of “Full-Time Equivalents” or “FTEs.”
Project Category
The project Category is the highest classification of projects based on their area of focus. The dashboard uses this category to classify CIP projects into groups for easier filtering and searches.
Project Sub-category
Project Sub-category is the second-highest classification of the projects based on their area of focus.
Joint Project
“Joint project” refers to Court Improvement Program projects conducted in partnership with the child welfare agency as required by the CIP Program Instruction.
Project Goals
Project goals are the desired outcomes of a project; that is, what the project aims to achieve.
Project Components
Project Components refer to any specific activity, strategy, intervention, process, product, practice, or policy that is part of a project and is intended to advance the project toward its Project Goals (e.g., develop a benchcard, host a judicial academy, implement blind removals).
Synchronous Virtual Training
Synchronous Virtual Training refers to training in which trainees gather at the same time (virtually or in-person) and interact in “real-time.”
Asynchronous Virtual Training
Asynchronous Virtual Training refers to training in which trainees access materials at their own pace and interact with the material independently.
Conference
Refers to a formal meeting in which a large group of people get together to talk about ideas or problems related to a particular topic, usually over several days.
Community of Practice
A group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and meet regularly to learn how to do it better.
Court Staff
Court staff refers to staff working for the courts in different capacities, such as clerks, court administrators.
Agency Staff (case workers, administrators, data analysts, etc.)
Agency Staff refers to staff working at the child welfare service organization, such as case workers, administrators, data analysts, etc.
Evaluation Type
Evaluation Type refers to the methods used to evaluate a training or professional development program, e.g, satisfaction survey, knowledge and skill acquisition, behavior change, or outcome measurement.
Court System Organization
Court System Organization refers to how a state court system organizes its administrative and rule-making authority (e.g., state-based, district-based, or hybrid of state and district-based organization.
“State-based” in this context means that administrative and procedural rulemaking authority is given to the state Supreme Court, their designees, or a statewide council/committee made up of judicial officers/representatives from different courts/districts/jurisdictions. This includes but is not limited to states that are legally described as "unified."
“District-based” in this context means that the administrative and procedural rulemaking authority is given to local courts (may be identified as “district,” “county, “parish” or another non-state jurisdictional unit), their designees, or a local court council/committee made up of judicial officers/representatives from different courts/districts/jurisdictions. This includes but is not limited to states that are legally described as "county-based" or “district-based” court systems.
“Hybrid” in this context means that the administrative and procedural rulemaking authority is distributed across some combination of state and local courts, their designees, or a court council/committee made up of judicial officers/representatives from different state and local courts/districts/jurisdictions.
Specialty Docket
Specialty dockets refer to specialized court dockets that offer judicial monitoring of intensive treatment, supervision, or remediation integral to case disposition. Specialty dockets includes what might be called “Specialty Courts,” as well (e.g., an ICWA docket, Family Treatment Court, Youth or Teen Court).
Court(s) Hearing First Appeal
The jurisdiction's first court of appeal of a dependency trial court’s decision, e.g., appeal to a court of general jurisdiction, an intermediate appellate court, or direct appeal to the state supreme court.
Court E-filing System
A dependency court’s electronic case filing system.
Statewide Child Welfare Agency Case Management System
The case management systems that the child welfare agency uses to manage child welfare cases.
Attorney Guardian ad litem
Refers to an attorney appointed by the court to advocate for the child’s best interest in dependency court proceedings.
Intermediate Appellate Court
A court that hears appeals and is not the court of last resort (e.g., Court of Appeals).
Multiple Appellate Courts
Refers to jurisdictions with multiple courts to which a trial court’s decision maybe appealed (e.g., a trial court’s decision may be appealed to a court of general jurisdiction or an intermediate appellate court within the jurisdiction).
Court of Last Resort
Refers to jurisdictions in which there is no intermediate appellate court and instead, the court to which the trial court’s decision is appealed is also the final court of appeal.
General Jurisdiction Court
Courts that may hear appeals of dependency trial court decisions but that are not dedicated, intermediate courts of appeal or courts of last resort.
Court Ordered Removal
The removal of a child based on authority granted through a court order.
Police Removal
The removal of a child pursuant to the executive power of the police.
Agency Removal
The removal of a child pursuant to the executive power of the agency.
Other Types of Removals
The ability to remove a child pursuant to any other power granted to a government agency other than through a court order, the executive power of the police, or the executive power of the agency.