Citizen Review Panels (CRP) are groups of citizen-volunteers who are federally mandated to conduct an evaluation of their state’s child protective services. Outagamie County operates one of eight state designated citizen review panels in Wisconsin, and has been in existence since 2000. Panels were established under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in 1996. Congress amended this act to direct states to support and improve child protection systems. The amendment specifically required each state to establish at least three citizen review panels to evaluate how effectively state and local agencies are fulfilling their child protection responsibilities. The Act was later revised and reauthorized as the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010. Each panel receives CAPTA funds from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to support activities and projects.
In Outagamie County, our citizen review panel provides opportunities for community members to play an integral role in ensuring that the child protection system is protecting children from abuse and neglect and helping find permanent, safe and stable homes for children when necessary. The citizen review panel represents points of view of the community and consumers, working in partnership with citizens, community agencies, and county child protective services.
If you would like to learn more about citizen review panels, please visit the National Citizen Review Panel web site http://www.uky.edu/SocialWork/crp/ . If interested in joining or participating in the Citizen Review Panel please contact Larry Creamer at pastorlarry@valleyconnex.org or Connie Raether at connieraether@gmail.com.