Supporting the Nation's Judicial System & the Public it Serves

NEWS

SJI Board Awards Third Quarter FY 2012 Grants

SJI received 15 grant applications requesting a total of $756,684 for the 3rd quarter of FY 2012. The Board met on June 18, 2012, in Seattle, Washington to make decisions on those applications, in addition to attending briefings by the Washington Judiciary and Center for Public Policy Studies.

Two (2) Project Grants were awarded, including one to the Minnesota State Court Administrator’s Office to develop an online conservator reporting system that is based on a pilot system developed in Ramsey County, Minnesota. The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) also received a grant to assess Colorado Rule 16.1 governing civil procedures and evaluate the existing Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP) in the Denver, Colorado, metro area, which was developed to help courts expedite business case processing.

Nine (9) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were approved, including: development of appellate court time standards by National Center for State Courts (NCSC) in close coordination with the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA); reengineering of the Pierce County District Court in Washington; implementation of a high performance court framework in Ottawa County, Michigan; development of an instructional video for self-represented litigants in family court matters by the Connecticut Judicial Branch; a second phase of the Massachusetts Trial Court/AOC language access project for small claims proceedings; a process improvement project for probate matters Maricopa County, Arizona; and grants to the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, Minnesota AOC, and Colorado Judicial Department for projects addressing self-represented litigants and the state courts. The TA Grant to the Minnesota AOC is the first phase of a project to create a statewide e-filing system for self-represented litigants.

Two (2) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were approved, including: delivery of motivational interview training to court staff at the 29th Judicial District’s Court of Common Pleas in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and a second phase of the Pillars of Service Excellence Program for the Connecticut Judicial Branch.

The next (and final) deadline for grants in FY 2012 is August 1, 2012 (4th quarter, FY 2012).