State Justice Institute

January is #NationalHumanTraffickingPreventionMonth

January is #NationalHumanTraffickingPreventionMonth. An opportunity to educate your community about the crime and highlight support services for those who have experienced it. State Justice Institute addresses the impact of federal and state human trafficking laws on the state courts, and the challenges faced by state courts in dealing with cases involving trafficking victims and their families. These efforts are intended to empower state courts to identify victims, link them with vital services, and hold traffickers accountable.

View some of our human trafficking funded projects here: https://www.sji.gov/priority-investment-areas/human-trafficking/

#humantraffickingawareness #endtrafficking #humantraffickingprevention

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The ICM Fellows Application is Open!

What does being a Fellow mean to the court community? CCJ and COSCA described the importance of the Fellows program in a joint resolution. The resolution recognizes Fellows as important court leaders, the importance of Fellows projects in improving the administration of justice, and Fellows “as a symbol of professional expertise and individual commitment to excellence in service.”

For more information and to apply, please visit: Prospective Fellows | NCSC

Please reach out to icmfellows@ncsc.org with any questions.

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Juvenile Court Transformation: Intensive State Technical Assistance and a National Training Institute

Most states do not have specialized family court judges, let alone judges dedicated to delinquency cases. Even in states that do have a family court structure, juvenile justice often gets short shrift compared to child welfare in terms of court attention, resources, and improvement efforts. In addition, most states do not provide juvenile court judges with the training, decision-making tools, data, and support systems necessary to make decisions consistently aligned with research and best practice that is specific to juvenile cases.

Many communities across the country are experiencing increasing concern and divisiveness on responses to juvenile crime and related juvenile justice reforms. Juvenile court judges are increasingly required to determine how best to balance community safety, public sentiment, media scrutiny, and political pressure with a commitment to research-based approaches and data-driven decision-making on juvenile crimes and punishments. States and the field, now more than ever, need to ensure that juvenile court judges are supported in making these difficult decisions and provided the tools and support commensurate with their outsized authority and responsibilities.

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), proposed a follow-up implementation initiative from the SJI-funded study and report, Courting Judicial Excellence in Juvenile Justice: A 50-State Study. The study examined how juvenile delinquency cases are handled in all 50 states.

The Juvenile Court Transformation Initiative advances the recommendations outlined in the report at both the state and national levels by: 1) providing intensive technical assistance for three states to strengthen juvenile court policy and practice, in alignment with research on what works to improve public and youth outcomes; and 2) creating an unprecedented juvenile justice court training institute to serve as a resource for judges who handle delinquency cases.

“Earlier this year in September, I was honored to be a part of the faculty for the first-of-its-kind judicial training institute on Juvenile Justice held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Funded through a partnership with the State Justice Institute, the institute was a four-day training event and was designed and implemented through a partnership of the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ).
“The importance of this juvenile justice training institute is due to the limited, if any, judicial education, or training received by the multitude of judges who decide the hundreds of thousands of cases involving children who are involved in the courts across the nation involving juvenile delinquency matters. There is a limited number of guidelines or recommended practices to help guide judicial decision making. Indeed, some judges do not have any mandatory judicial education and limited mentoring before deciding these types of matters that involve children and public safety. A well-educated judiciary is vital to the safety of our communities and in the best interest of our children involved in our juvenile and family courts across the nation.”
Judge Carr, NCJFCJ President

“The Courting Judicial Excellence Juvenile Training Institute addressed fundamental aspects of juvenile justice practice including adolescent brain development, the use of science and research and its application to juvenile court practice. Particularly its application to critical decision-making points including intake, diversion, adjudication, detention, waiver, case management and placement decisions. Further, the training provided juvenile justice judges with the information necessary to request and use forensic evaluations for children in juvenile court including the importance of screening and assessment and the role of Risk, Need and Responsivity at key decision points. The Institute addressed effective, and ineffective practices, that improve outcomes for children at risk and improve public safety. The Institute also included the importance of judicial leadership in using data to drive services, interventions, and outcomes as well as the need to promote racial equity. The success of the Juvenile Justice Institute confirmed the need to further develop the capacity of judges to support, divert and redirect youth to appropriate and fair justice options while maintaining public safety.”
Judge Carr, NCJFCJ President

“Support from CSG and NCJFCJ has brought a heightened focus to juvenile justice issues throughout Montana’s state court system. I’ve benefited from their knowledge, skill and expertise throughout the course of our project. Their work has sparked a number of pivotal conversations among judges, juvenile probation officers, court administrators, prosecutors and defense attorneys. I believe this project will benefit our state’s youth court system for many years to come.”
John W. Parker, District Court Judge

“I loved everything about the training. All of it was informative. If I had to choose a favorite part, it would probably be the adolescent brain development session, the impact of detention and GPS and the tour/discussion with the youth.”
Training Institute Participant

“I really enjoyed hearing from the other judges from around the US and the world regarding what has worked and what has not worked in their courtroom. I enjoyed learning how to have a new perspective in juvenile justice.”
Training Institute Participant

Access the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s Courting Judicial Excellence homepage here: https://csgjusticecenter.org/projects/courting-judicial-excellence/

Deadline Extended! Seeking Juvenile Courts for Demonstration Sites Project

Deadline Extended! Seeking Juvenile Courts for #DemonstrationSites Project

Applications are due by January 5th, 2024.

Are you interested in making data-driven decisions in your juvenile justice court? Are you in the midst of juvenile justice system reform and could use some technical assistance or strategic planning? Would you like your court to be more engaged with your community? Whether you are just starting a new court reform initiative or need assistance with your current initiatives, check out this unique opportunity to assist your court.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges NCJFCJ, with funding from the State Justice Institute (SJI), is pleased to announce that we are seeking juvenile courts that are interested in participating in the Enhanced Juvenile Justice Guidelines Demonstration Sites Project. If your court is interested in becoming a demonstration site, please click on the link below to complete the application.

https://ncjfcj.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ddpIevgAYubnp6S

Applications are due by January 5th, 2024.

Federal Grant Resources! SJI Funding Toolkit

It’s that time of year again! Federal Grant Season has started. State Justice Institute has designed a Funding Toolkit to support local courts, state courts, and their justice system partners as they pursue federal and philanthropic funding opportunities. This toolkit includes resources that encompass the entire grant seeking, writing and management process, such as planning checklists, sample documents, frequently asked questions and fact sheets.

Technical assistance is also available to courts to provide support and feedback during the grant writing and development process. Access the toolkit to learn about the current funding opportunities, receive technical assistance, watch virtual learning modules and visit our FAQ page to answer any questions you may have: https://fundingtoolkit.sji.gov/

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Response Team will Assist Courts with AI Policy and Practice

The Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) have created a Rapid Response Team (RRT) of chief justices and state court administrators to examine some of the immediate issues related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI in courts.

“The growing reliance on AI tools in the legal practice and court proceedings offers opportunities and challenges,” said CCJ President and RRT Co-Chair Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge of the DC Court of Appeals. “I am pleased that this team will begin work soon to assist courts in understanding the current implications of AI’s evolution on the state courts and create model guardrails to protect the integrity of the judicial process.”

RRT Co-Chair Justin Forkner, Chief Administrative Officer of the Indiana Supreme Court, added, “Our shared understanding of these technologies will help us develop model rules for state courts with respect to disclosure, transparency, accuracy, authenticity, and certification of AI use in court pleading and proceedings.”

Supported by NCSC staff, this team will collect and analyze court orders, rules, best practices, and other actions of the state court community related to attorneys and self-represented litigants’ use of AI tools to construct legal pleadings.

SJI Board Awards FY 2024 First Quarter Grants

SJI received 10 grant applications requesting a total of $1,231,514 for the 1^st quarter of FY 2024. The Board met on December 4, 2023, at SJI Headquarters to make decisions on those applications.

During its meeting, the Board awarded one (1) Strategic Initiatives Grant to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators to conduct five regional online and in-person summits, where court leaders will gain a deeper understanding of cybersecurity and technical disaster recovery resources and tools, enabling them to prevent, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity events.

One (1) Project Grant application was awarded to the National Association for Court Management (NACM) to: 1) develop and deliver nationally significant educational programs, related materials, and curriculum with a continued focus on SJI Priority Investment Areas and the NACM Core©; and 2) continue distant learning opportunities to broaden the scope and delivery of educational content to court managers, judges, administrators, and other judicial branch employees.

Five (5) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: 1) the Kansas Supreme Court to conduct an organizational assessment of the staffing structure of the Office of Judicial Administration and district court administrators statewide; 2) the NCSC to develop a free, online self-study resource that will educate court staff about the role of courts in American society, and how court staff help fulfill the mission of courts; 3) the Superior Court of Mohave County, Arizona, to conduct a workload assessment of judicial officers; 4) the Alaska Court System to identify the most effective governance model that will result in a cohesive, responsive, efficient, and data-informed administrative system for trial court operations; and 5) the Wyoming Judicial Branch to implement a mental health diversion project with the immediate goal of launching a pilot in Campbell County, and a long-term goal statewide implementation.

Two (2) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were awarded: 1) support to the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) to develop an advanced domestic violence educational session and toolkit for judges and other court personnel attending the NAWJ meetings; and 2) the Wisconsin Office of Judicial Education to provide a faculty development training program for judicial officers and other court personnel identified as potential future in-house faculty for educational programming in the state.

GIS Technology to Assist in Identifying “Legal Deserts”

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has recently started utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping technology to assist state courts in identifying “legal deserts”- areas where people may face challenges accessing legal resources and services.

GIS technology can help courts gain deeper insights into the needs of people living in legal deserts by generating legal desert maps that consider access-to-justice risk factors such as the number of attorneys compared to the population, distance to a courthouse, poverty rates, limited English proficiency, and the absence of internet or broadband connectivity.

“We can integrate external data that we usually would not focus on, such as demographics, population characteristics, transportation routes, bus schedules, or public service provider locations,” said Miriam Hamilton, an NCSC senior court research analyst. “This allows us to identify problems that were not clear before, set priorities based on locations with the greatest need, or even forecast trends.”

NCSC Court Consulting Services Managing Director, Danielle Hirsch, expanded on Hamilton’s comments by saying, “Sometimes internal court data is not enough to help identify the full problem, and GIS data can help us to see other solutions.”

Hirsch recently shared some of these findings during a session at the CCJ/COSCA Midwest Summit. To date, NCSC has created legal desert maps for several states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Additional states may be added in the future.

GIS analysis has revealed that legal deserts are not always found in rural areas. Urban areas can also experience risk factors and limited resources. Furthermore, GIS mapping can also address other court issues, such as finding solutions for high failure-to-appear rates.

One state that has embraced GIS mapping is Michigan, where courts are using data to guide activities for their Justice For All Commission, Michigan Legal Help program, and MI-Resolve, a free online dispute resolution system.

Learn more by exploring the Mapping Barriers to Accessing Legal Services data.

Upcoming Webinar! What’s New with Virtual Child Welfare Hearings

Upcoming Webinar! The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) will be hosting: What’s New with Virtual Child Welfare Hearings on December 19th, 2023, at 3:00PM EST.

Virtual hearings were a necessity to move child welfare cases forward during the pandemic; however, some jurisdictions are continuing to find benefits to using them as a tool. In this webinar, hear from court experts about new resources to help you facilitate meaningful and effective child welfare virtual hearings.

For more information and to register now, click here: Webinar Registration – Zoom

2024 NACM Midyear Conference

Save the date! #EducationalSessions You Won’t Want to Miss!

Register now for the 2024 NACM – National Association for Court Management Midyear Conference, from February 4th-February 6th, 2024, in Orange County, CA. The conference will offer the most current information, tools, best practices, and training for #courtprofessionals. This upcoming live event features engaging presentations across three (3) educational tracks with insightful opportunities to network with fellow attendees, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors.

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