Author: Lauren Curtis

Enhancing State Court Efforts to Address Child Abuse and Neglect

In 2016, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) developed the Enhanced Resource Guidelines (ERGs) to outline best practices for handling child abuse and neglect cases. To support implementation, NCJFCJ launched a project to train select jurisdictions in ERG-based practices.

The ERGs emphasize keeping families together, ensuring access to justice, cultural responsiveness, appropriate family time, and child safety. Research has shown that ERG implementation improves case outcomes, including faster permanency, better parental understanding in court, and increased family engagement.

Researchers from the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ), NCJFCJ’s research arm, analyzed data from three urban courts trained in ERG implementation. Their pre/post analysis found that ERG training positively impacts case processing and outcomes. Post-implementation, adoption rates increased, and hearings were less likely to be continued, reducing delays. Findings are under review for publication and will be presented this April at the 24th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in Rockville, Maryland.

Additionally, NCJJ has published a catalog of dependency case management reports to help courts track key data for assessing and improving permanency outcomes. This resource provides guidance on essential data collection, report creation, and information-sharing strategies to enhance child welfare case processing.

The Rural Justice Collaborative Digest for February 2025

Funded by the State Justice Institute, the National Center for State Courts, in partnership with Rulo Strategies LLC, launched the Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC) to showcase the strengths of rural communities and highlight the cross-sector collaboration that is a hallmark of rural justice systems. These strengths include strong professional networks, deep ties to the communities they serve, resiliency, and ingenuity. The Rural Justice Collaborative is guided by an advisory council of rural practitioners representing the judiciary, public safety, behavioral health, public health, child welfare, victim services and other stakeholder-focused justice systems. The advisory council guides the initiative and has focused initial efforts on advancing innovation, promoting collaboration, and raising awareness of rural justice system needs.

RJC-Digest-Feb-2025

Courting AI: Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Courts Guide

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) has released an updated Courting AI: Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Courts Guide.

The National Association for Court Management presents the first revision of their AI Guide adding additional use cases in the courts and the broader legal profession. This guide continues to be a reference for courts and court professionals pursuing the responsible use of AI.

The AI Guide, Courting AI: Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Courts, V2 (2025) is available through the NACM Store – National Association for Court Management.

Upcoming Webinar! NACM Court Security Webinar

Wednesday, February 26th, 2025, at 3:00PM EST

The revised National Association for Court Management (NACM) Court Security Guide incorporates the latest best practices and technological advancements to help mitigate risks and ensure the protection of judiciary personnel, visitors and facilities. The guide was developed in collaboration with security experts and court managers and provides practical strategies for implementing effective security protocols. This webinar seeks to delve deeper into the discussion on court security and provide additional resources for you to implement in your court.

Join in on February 26th, 2025, at 3:00PM EST to learn how the NACM Court Security Guide can help courts just like yours implement a new court security initiative or improve on your current security protocols. The court security guide can be purchased from the NACM store for non-members and is offered for free to members as a member perk.

Register here: Webinar Registration – Zoom

Wyoming Judicial Branch Mental Health Diversion Project

Behavioral health diversion is built on a guiding hypothesis: Diverting non-violent individuals with serious mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment and support services will transform lives, reduce recidivism, generate cost savings, and ease the burden on jails, courts, and state hospitals. This hypothesis has been proven in well-resourced urban centers like Miami. The Wyoming Judicial Branch is now testing whether it holds true in a rural, under-resourced jurisdiction like Wyoming.

To test this hypothesis, the Wyoming Judicial Branch launched the state’s first diversion pilot in Campbell County on January 1, 2024. The program operates as follows: eligible individuals (those who commit non-violent misdemeanors, have a diagnosis of serious mental illness, are assessed as moderate to very high criminogenic risk, and do not pose a public safety threat) are offered the option of diversion. Participants who choose diversion and successfully complete an individualized treatment plan have their charges dismissed. Those who decline or fail to complete the program return to the traditional criminal justice process.

With funding from the State Justice Institute, the Wyoming Judicial Branch partnered with the National Center for State Courts to provide training and technical assistance for the Campbell County pilot and up to three additional pilots across the state.

Early results are promising. The pilot program’s first graduate spent 623 days in jail before entering diversion and zero days in jail after entering the program. While it is too early for definitive conclusions, these results suggest behavioral health diversion works in rural settings.

The Judicial Innovation Fellowship Program

The Judicial Innovation Fellowship (JIF) is a fellowship for technology industry professionals to transform justice across state, local, territorial, and tribal courts. Partnering with courts to build critical data infrastructure, simplify processes, and improve usability of court services, this competitive fellowship is a unique opportunity to innovate a core democratic institution.

The Judicial Innovation Fellowship is incubated at the Georgetown Institute for Technology Law & Policy. This work is made possible by the State Justice Institute, the New Venture Fund, Schmidt Futures, the Ford Foundation, the Utah Bar Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Fritz Family Foundation.

The inaugural cohort took place from 2023-2024. This successful pilot is commemorated in the JIF Final Report and the Judicial Innovation Fellowship Webinar video, which was recorded in January 2025.

To read about how the program was built, please read the JIF Roadmap.

JIF_Report_24Download

Upcoming Webinar! Tech for All: Applications of AI to Increase Access to Justice

When? Wednesday, January 29th, 2025, at 1:00PM EST.

Explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing access to justice for underserved communities.

Presenters will discuss how they are safely and effectively leveraging new technologies to make the legal system more accessible. Participants will learn about practical applications of AI and discover the potential for democratizing access to legal information for increased participation in court cases and proceedings. The presenters will also share compelling case studies that demonstrate how AI can directly assist individuals seeking justice. National Center for State Courts

Register here.

The Rural Justice Collaborative Digest for January 2025

Funded by the State Justice Institute, the National Center for State Courts, in partnership with Rulo Strategies LLC, launched the Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC) to showcase the strengths of rural communities and highlight the cross-sector collaboration that is a hallmark of rural justice systems. These strengths include strong professional networks, deep ties to the communities they serve, resiliency, and ingenuity. The Rural Justice Collaborative is guided by an advisory council of rural practitioners representing the judiciary, public safety, behavioral health, public health, child welfare, victim services and other stakeholder-focused justice systems. The advisory council guides the initiative and has focused initial efforts on advancing innovation, promoting collaboration, and raising awareness of rural justice system needs.

RJC-Digest-Jan-2025

Deadline Extension! Pretrial, Prosecution, Defense Counsel, and Courts Mentoring Initiative

Deadline Extension! New Pretrial, Prosecution, Defense Counsel, and Courts Mentoring Initiative Deadline Extended: February 14th, 2025, at 5:00PM EST.

The OJP Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and RTI International are seeking mentor sites to share their best practices and expertise with diverting justice-involved persons with substance use disorders to community-based treatment or connecting individuals to treatment and support services during the pretrial and court adjudication phases of justice processing. This program is part of the training and technical assistance (TTA) resources available to jurisdictions through BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP).

The Pretrial, Prosecution, Defense Counsel, and Courts Mentoring Initiative provides an opportunity for new or early-stage programs to be matched with experienced practitioners to promote peer-to-peer learning. The mentor sites serve as models for individuals and teams interested in starting a new practice or for established programs interested in learning innovative approaches.

Application: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8053368/Pretrial-Prosecution-Defense-Counsel-and-Courts-Mentor-Site-Application

#applicationdeadline #deadlineextension #COSSUP #courts #applynow #BJA

Upcoming Webinar! Veterans Treatment Courts: Enhancing Support for Military-Connected Survivors of DVSAS in the VTC Process

When? Tuesday, February 11th, 2025, at 1:00PM EST.

This training provides Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) personnel, court judges, legal clerks, and other key stakeholders with the tools and knowledge needed to support military-connected survivors of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Sexual Assault, and Stalking (DVSAS). It explores the unique dynamics of these cases, challenges in navigating military and civilian systems, and the importance of building coordinated responses. Participants will gain practical strategies for collaborating with local agencies and advocates to provides holistic, trauma-informed, and survivor-centered support within VTC settings. Through case studies, interactive discussions, and actionable insights, this session emphasizes the critical role VTC personnel play in ensuring equitable access to justice and recovery services for military-connected survivors. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

Prior to participating in this webinar, participants are strongly encouraged to view this recorded webinar on Advocating for Military-Connected Survivors.

Register here.