As a part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Congress appropriated $35 million over a period of four years as grants for use by the states to improve the handling of foster care cases by the courts. In 1994, Maryland established the Foster Care Court Improvement Project Advisory Committee. This Committee spearheaded an assessment of Maryland's handling of foster care cases which resulted in an assessment report entitled Improving Court Performance for Abused and Neglected Children. This report was generated in the Fall of 1997. The Foster Care Court Improvement Project (FCCIP) Implementation Committee was formed and held its first meeting on November 13, 1997. Also in November 1997, President Clinton signed into law the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997(ASFA), which extended the term for three more years for states to receive grants under the court improvement program. 

The Maryland Judiciary's Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has administered the FCCIP primarily with federal grant funds aimed at protecting the safety and well-being of maltreated children involved in the juvenile court process. The AOC consolidated the FCCIP with the Family Division and Support Services Program in June 2000. This consolidation mirrors the ideal behind Maryland Rule 16-204 that directs that juvenile cases be assigned to the Family Divisions. 

The FCCIP has an oversight committee and five subcommittees whose membership and consultants include judges, masters, attorneys, court personnel, representatives of social services agencies; representatives of the Citizen Review Board; and other experts in child welfare. Each subcommittee, CINA, Statistics/JIS, Representation, and Training, and TPR Workgroup is charged with the responsibility of implementing the relevant recommendations from the assessment report.