Wyoming Citizen Review Panel (WYCRP)

Wyoming Citizen Review Panel (WYCRP)
The WYCRP began in 1998 in response to a federal mandate from the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act of 1996. This act requires each state to have a Citizen Review Panel that provides input from citizens with regards to agency policies and procedures. Through a review of service networks, policies, procedures, research and reviews of child protective and juvenile service cases the purpose of the Citizen Review Panel is to promote child safety, permanency and well-being for children and families.

The Children's Justice Act Task Force, administered by WYCRP, conducts reviews of all child deaths and major injuries that occur while they are in the protective custody of the state and makes recommendations to improve the judicial handling of child maltreatment cases. Data from the Task Force is also used to improve systemic response to child maltreatment and improving outcomes for children and youth in the state's care.

The Parents as Teachers Affiliate program was introduced in 2013 under the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visitation grant (MIECHV). This program's goal is to provide support and information to parents during the early stages of childhood development, prenatally up to age three. This is done by empowering parents as the first and most important teacher of their child.

The panel started to provide citizen input for the child protection system to help them improve policies and procedures. As we all know prevention is always better than intervention. We not only want to prevent children and families from becoming involved in the protection system, we want to see them thrive.

It is this philosophy that has driven our organization to expand the programs we offer. We want to provide families with the knowledge and skills to raise happy, healthy kids.