Board Awards Grants For The 4th Quarter
On June 26, 2009, the SJI Board of Directors met to award grants for the 4th quarter of FY 2009. A total of $374,456 in new grants were awarded. Awarded grants included a Project Grant to the Maryland Judiciary for a comparative evaluation and cost analysis of three teen court models in the state. Teen courts provide an alternative program for first time teen offenders and are growing in popularity across the United States. However, evidence of their effectiveness is inconclusive. Therefore, this project will provide an understanding of how teen courts function in Maryland, and their effectiveness in impacting outcomes for at-risk teens. Another Project Grant was awarded to the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts for Phase II of their Justice System Interpreter Resource Project. This project will continue to improve the use of interpreters in the state, in addition to the pooling of limited interpreter resources across the justice system.
Five (5) Technical Assistance (TA) Grant applications were awarded, including a strategic planning project for the Coconino County, Arizona, Superior Court; a case flow management project for Shelby County, Indiana; a county-wide justice system collaboration project for Troupe County, Georgia; and an Electronic Document Management System planning project for the 5th District Court of Appeal in California. Four (4) Curriculum Adaptation and Training (CAT) Grant applications were awarded, including emergency management training for the 18th Judicial Circuit in Florida; support for the National Judicial College’s water law education programs; a D.C. Bench/Bar/Media education program to be conducted by the Council for Court Excellence; and Court Management Program training for the 20th Judicial Circuit and Ottawa County, Michigan, Probate Courts.
FY 2009 was another successful year for SJI. In addition to continuing to support individual state courts through numerous grants, SJI continued its focus on national court issues, such as immigration in the state courts and court budgeting, through the Strategic Initiatives Grants program. SJI is committed to continuing these efforts in FY 2010.
