Author: Lauren Curtis

Update to the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines – Processing Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Courts

What works with youth involved in the juvenile justice system? This is a question that has research pointing to some clear answers. Wrap-around services, a focus on youth skill development, and a well-coordinated case plan are all keys to helping youth successfully exit the justice system and become better citizens of their communities.

But even though we have a lot of research pointing to what works, it can sometimes be challenging to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Demonstration sites serve as a test laboratory to understand how research can inform practice. The Enhanced Juvenile Justice Guidelines (EJJG) project of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) currently has six jurisdictions that are serving this critical role. These sites are:

  • Cobb County, Georgia
  • Davidson County, Tennessee
  • Hamilton County, Ohio
  • Lane County, Oregon
  • Paw Paw County, Michigan
  • Washington County, Maryland

These juvenile courts are working to incorporate research into their practice on topics ranging from using screening and assessment instruments to match youth to services; improving stakeholder collaborations; increasing school/justice communication to interrupt school pathways to the justice system; and using data to reduce disproportionality. As these courts undertake these important system reforms, the NCJFCJ provides them with training and technical assistance. In addition, NCJFCJ uses the lessons learned to create new tools, resources, and trainings so that other courts across the country can learn from the important work of the demonstration sites.

For more information about the EJJG project please contact Jessica Pearce at jpearce@ncjfcj.org.

President Biden Nominates Bethany Pickett Shah to State Justice Institute Board of Directors

On May 23rd, 2024, President Biden nominated Bethany Pickett Shah to the SJI Board of Directors. She will fill a public member position previously held by Judge John Nalbandian, who resigned after becoming a Circuit Court Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  

Ms. Shah is an attorney with Jackson Walker LLP, where she specializes in complex commercial litigation, government investigations, and white-collar defense. Prior to private practice, she served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas, where she represented the United States in criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. Before becoming a prosecutor, she worked at the White House as Deputy Associate Counsel to the President, and at the Department of Justice as a Counsel in the Civil Rights Division and Counsel in the Office of Legal Policy. She is the recipient of several awards for her service, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas’s Dedicated Service Award. She has also been appointed by the judges of the Eastern District of Texas to serve on the district’s Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel. Ms. Shah is a graduate of The King’s College and Northwestern University School of Law. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Trauma-Informed Practices for Criminal Courts: Implementation Opportunities

#NewResource Trauma-Informed Practices for Criminal Courts: Implementation Opportunities, the Center for Justice Innovation‘s new resource, funded by the State Justice Institute, has been released.

How can criminal courts implement trauma-informed practices? This is the focus of the latest work from the Office of National Initiative’s Recovery and Reform and Gender and Family Justice team’s, whom are providing judges, clerks, bailiffs, and attorneys with guidance on responding to trauma in their courts. Trauma-Informed Practices for Criminal Courts: Implementation Opportunities documents initial lessons learned from a national scan of trauma-informed practices in criminal courts and forms the basis for the Trauma-Informed Practice Strategy Lab’s forthcoming implementation blueprint.

Access the resource here: https://www.innovatingjustice.org/sites/default/files/media/document/2024/CJI_-SJI-Guide-TA-Trauma-Informed-Practices-Criminal-Courts-04302024.pdf

Reducing Conflict with Families in Transition

Judges in family courts handle the complex dynamics of familial conflicts, particularly in cases involving high parental conflict. Parenting education is essential, serving as a vital tool to ensure children’s well-being during parental separations and promote smoother family transitions.

“The Families in Transition (FIT) Parenting Course,” a 1.5-hour online program designed to complement existing parenting education programs, was created in 2023. This course forms part of a broader case management strategy to assist families in high conflict.

“Exposure to parental conflict poses a serious health risk to children and addressing those issues drain resources if the courts.”

-Judge Bruce R. Cohen, the former presiding judge of the family court division of the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona

The FIT program, which was conceived by Judge Cohen, recognizes that in many circumstances, parental conflict is a behavioral issue that for many families is resolvable through programs like FIT.  When successful, FIT can free up resources for cases where parental conflict and dysfunction is a byproduct of underlying mental health or domestic violence issues, which need additional support.

A March 2024 study by Arizona State University confirmed FIT’s effectiveness in significantly reducing conflict behaviors. Since its introduction in Arizona in January 2024, nearly 300 referrals have been made to FIT, with about 200 certificates being filed with the court.

Future plans include expanding national access to the program so that FIT can be offered at no cost to parties. Plans include offering FIT in Spanish, and other languages.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is hosting a national “watch party” in mid-May 2024 to convene courts interested in implementing FIT.

For more information or to participate in the watch party, visit the Families in Transition or contact adavis@ncsc.org.

Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program: Transformative Opportunities for Courts

Upcoming #Webinar! New federal funding resource of interest to the courts. The webinar, Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program: Transformative Opportunities for Courts, will take place on Thursday, May 30th, 2024, at 2:00PM EST. The webinar is presented by the OJP Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ). Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald of New Hampshire will introduce the program. 

To register and for further information or questions about the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (Byrne SCIP): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RVh-PHbPTw2U_JWc6XtvAw#/registration

To request training and technical assistance (TTA) on SCIP and Courts, contact the NCJFCJ at SCIP.CourtTTA@ncjfcj.org

For additional information and to request other SCIP TTA, please access: https://www.ncja.org/byrne-scip

Flyer-1

Upcoming Webinar! National Association of Women Judges: Order in the Court & the Home: Judicial Safety Considerations

#UpcomingWebinar National Association of Women Judges Order in the Court & the Home: Judicial Safety Considerations

When? Wednesday, April 24th, 2024, at 1:00 PM EST.

This virtual program, co-sponsored by National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, was designed specifically for judges, in direct response to their increased vulnerability to violence and with sensitivity to their specific roles and risks. 

After this session attendees will be better able to identify strategies to enhance safety through awareness and practices outlined in the NCJFCJ DV AWARE training program, funded by the State Justice Institute, and analyze their readiness to identify and develop policies and practices to better respond to judicial safety concerns and dangerous incidents that may occur within the court system (including domestic violence-related incidents).

Register here.

SJI Visits The National Judicial College

Members of the SJI Board, Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, and Senior Program Advisor, Michelle White, visited the National Judicial College (NJC) in Reno, Nevada on April 9th, 2024. Pictured with President & CEO Hon. Benes Aldana (Ret.), Chief Academic Officer, Joy Lyngar, and Chief of Staff, Chrystn Eads.

SJI Board Awards FY 2024 Second Quarter Grants

SJI received 14 grant applications requesting a total of $1,800,068 for the 2nd quarter of FY 2024. The Board met on April 8, 2024, at the Supreme Court of Nevada to make decisions on those applications.

During its meeting, the Board awarded five (5) Strategic Initiatives Grant to: 1) the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to convene a national summit and provide technical assistance to arm state court leaders and their partners with the best available information on effective policy and practice approaches to serve young people; 2) the NCSC to provide state courts with tangible approaches to improve plain language and clear communication on court forms through Forms Camp 2024; 3) The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, in collaboration with the Berkeley Judicial Institute to support a national summit on judicial leadership; 4) NCJFCJ, in partnership with the Judicial Studies Graduate Degree Program at the University of Nevada Reno and the Kempe Center to develop a e-learning course on the science of medical evidence in child abuse and neglect cases; and 5) the NCJFCJ to improve the juvenile and family court system’s ability to identify youth who are experiencing housing insecurity and connect them with services.

One (1) Project Grant application was awarded to the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts to conduct a statewide Behavioral Health and Recovery Summit that will engage other branches of government, key stakeholders, and county action teams to respond to behavioral health challenges. 

Five (5) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: 1) the Wisconsin Court System to provide a Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) train-the-trainer workshop, and an in-state SIM workshop in La Crosse County; 2) the Maryland Judiciary to create a strategic campaign that identifies initiatives aligned with the Judiciary’s mission and vision; 3) the District of Columbia Courts for a project on the planning, impact, and use of Artificial Intelligence on judicial decision-making and court operations; 4) Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, City Court to improve justice and behavioral health responses to individuals with serious mental illness through a SIM workshop; and 5) the Wyoming Judicial Branch to assist in strengthening security by providing courthouse security assessments for eleven (11) courthouses in the state.

Two (2) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were awarded: 1) the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts to support educational sessions during the 2024 meeting; and 2) the National Association of State Judicial Educators for enhanced audio/visual capabilities and faculty during the 2024 annual meeting.

The next deadline for grant applications is May 1, 2024.

SJI Visits The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

Last week, our Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, our Senior Program Advisor, Michelle White, and members of the SJI Board took a trip to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, (NCJFCJ) in Reno, Nevada. Pictured with Joey Orduña Hastings, Chief Executive Officer of NCJFCJ, and Bill DeLisio, Deputy Executive Officer, NCJFCJ.