New Strategic Initiatives Grants Will Continue Addressing National Court Issues
During the April 24, 2009, Board meeting, two new Strategic Initiatives Grants (SIG) were awarded; one to the Center for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) for Phase II of the Immigration and the State Courts project; and one to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to address state court budgeting issues. These SIG projects, totaling $470,000, will address two high priority issues impacting the state courts.
During the second phase of the Immigration and the State Courts project, CPPS will continue their work in Maricopa County, Arizona; Miami-Dade County, Florida; and western Minnesota. In addition, CPPS will expand their work to additional diverse learning sites across the United States. The new sites will be selected on the basis of obtaining a different mix of immigrant populations, active court and court administration participation, geographic diversity, and the existence of state laws that might have consequences for both federal and state immigration policy and practice. The learning site assessment and technical assistance tools developed in Phase I will be expanded and tested in the new sites. Other activities included in Phase II are: the development and testing of a model measurement system for determining the magnitude and impacts of immigration in state trial courts; the preparation of a family and juvenile electronic bench guide; development of training courses for both judicial and non-judicial court personnel to create a capacity to understand the scope and consequences of immigration on a state court; and practical strategies to facilitate on-going federal/state dialog on these issues.
The second SIG project will enable NSCS to provide direct technical assistance to state courts facing severe budget shortfalls. The current and projected fiscal conditions for state and local governments are extremely dire; having a significant negative impact on the state courts. SJI has already received grant requests to assist state courts in these difficult times. For example, this year SJI awarded a grant to the Vermont Supreme Court to re-engineer the court system as a result of budget shortfalls in that state. This SIG project will provide the technical assistance needed to assist the state courts in adapting to budget cuts, while maintaining service delivery and access to justice. The assistance will include: documenting and analyzing the experiences at selected sites for general guidance for courts; and assistance to the sites in defining and prioritizing their options, and re-engineering processes. The results of NCSC’s work in the selected sites will be made available to all state courts.
