Williamsburg, Va. (October 15, 2009) — The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has been named a full partner in two child welfare resource centers and will receive about $2.2 million over the next five years to fund work that will help abused and neglected children nationwide. The monetary awards will be made by the Children’s Bureau, an arm of the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The announcement of the funding comes as the NCSC-sponsored Third National Judicial Leadership Summit on the Protection of Children, or Summit III, is being held in Austin, Texas, Oct. 15-17. Hosted by the Texas courts and Texas Permanent Judicial Commission on Children, Youth, and Families, Summit III is bringing together judicial and child welfare agency leaders from across the country to address issues and practices that affect the child protection system, and to foster local, statewide, and national collaboration.
“The National Center has always been committed to improving the child welfare system, most notably through the 2008 development of key court performance measures in child abuse and neglect cases in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice and through the biennial national leadership summits that began in 2005,” said Mary C. McQueen, president of NCSC.
“Being named a full partner in these national resource centers is the result of years of building coalitions with other organizations that are equally committed to achieving safety, permanence, and well-being for abused and neglected children,” she said.
As a partner in the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology, the National Center will work with the Child Welfare League of America and Westat, an employee-owned contract research firm, to provide technical assistance to state, local, and tribal child welfare agencies and the courts.
For the National Resource Center for Legal and Judicial Issues, NCSC will join with the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to provide consultation, training, and technical assistance on all legal and judicial aspects of the child welfare system.
The NCSC will receive about $240,000 each year for the next five years for its partnership in the National Resource Center for Legal and Judicial Issues, and $200,000 each year for the next five years for its partnership in the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology.
The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts.
The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National Center, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts.
National Center for State Courts, 300 Newport Avenue, Williamsburg, VA 23185-4147