National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week

Join us in celebrating #PPPS Week!

The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) is promoting the National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week (#PPPSWeek), held the third full calendar week of July (Sunday – Saturday).

This week, we celebrate over 100,000 community corrections professionals around the country who work hard to keep our communities safe.

New Publication! A National Compendium of Court Navigation Programs

Policy Research Associates, Inc. in partnership with the State Justice Institute, released a new overview of 18 court navigation programs operating in 22 states across the US. A court navigation program provides guidance and information about court processes and procedures to people in contact with the court system. The compendium can serve as a tool for courts to develop their own court navigation program or to expand an existing program’s services.

Download the free resource here: https://www.prainc.com/…/CourtNavigatorCompendium-508.pdf

Upcoming Webinar! National Discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its Impact

Upcoming #Webinar! Tomorrow: Friday, June 23rd, 2023, at 3:00PM EST.

National Discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its Impact.

The National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will host a national discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its impact. This interactive discussion will bring together judicial thought leaders from across the country to discuss the challenges and successes of the decision and will provide an opportunity to share perspectives on ways to effectively support families and communities moving forward.

Register now: Webinar Registration – Zoom

IAALS Releases National Framework for States to Create New Tier of Legal Professionals Who Can Offer More Affordable Legal Help

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announced the release of its new report, Allied Legal Professionals: A National Framework for Program Growth. As part of IAALS’ Allied Legal Professionals project—which is generously supported by the Sturm Family Foundation—this report includes multiple research-informed recommendations to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals across states, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.

“To hire a lawyer, people either need considerable money or have an income low enough to qualify for the limited legal aid available. The problem is that the majority of people in the middle class don’t fit into either of those categories, making access to legal services incredibly difficult,” says IAALS Director of Special Projects Michael Houlberg. “Even if every lawyer took on pro bono clients, it wouldn’t come close to addressing the need. And IAALS’ research shows that people who need legal help are open to receiving it from qualified and authorized providers who are not lawyers.”

In early 2022, IAALS launched the Allied Legal Professionals project in response to an increase in state programs creating a new tier of legal service providers who target this gap in legal services—mirroring in many ways how nurse practitioners joined the medical field alongside doctors. These new providers—which collectively IAALS has referred to as allied legal professionals (ALPs)—are being authorized to provide legal advice in certain case types and under certain circumstances. Data from these programs show that ALPs are making a positive impact in people’s lives. Well-trained ALPs are competent, their clients are satisfied with their work product, and they can reach a portion of the population that lawyers are not reaching. ALPs are providing high-quality legal services at around half the cost of lawyers.

The report includes:

  • A look at the broader ecosystem of legal service providers, of which ALPs are a part.
  • Different stakeholders that have essential voices in creating effective ALP programs.
  • High-level and on-the-ground recommendations on the various components of state ALP programs.

Access the report here: alp_national_framework.pdf (du.edu)

Upcoming Webinar! Family-Centered Fridays: Creating User-Centered Courtrooms

Upcoming #Webinar! Family-Centered Fridays: Creating User-Centered Courtrooms. Friday, June 30th, 2023, at 12:15PM EST.

Learn how #courtroom design can support user-centered court culture. Attendees will have the opportunity to view plans for #usercentered courtrooms and court service areas, hear details of the design process, and learn some of the creative ways jurisdictions can begin to implement user-centered design principles at all levels of scale. National Center for State Courts

Register here: https://ncsc-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_s2jdIU5ESQSFodruDRwzpw?utm_campaign=350892_Family-Centered%20Fridays%3A%20Creating%20User-Centered%20Courtrooms&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotdigital&dm_i=7L57,7IR0,4VVT7N,12FAC,1#/registration

SJI Awards Grants to Enhance State Court Efforts in Addressing Child Abuse and Neglect

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, on average over 400,000 abused and neglected children live in foster care in the U.S. and foster care systems serve over 600,000 children and youth every year.[1]  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in 2020, 34% of child maltreatment victims were under age 3, more than half were female (51%), 44% were white, and the majority (61%) experienced neglect, and American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Black, multiple race, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic youth were more likely to be victimized than white youth.[2]  State courts play a pivotal role in the lives of these children and families.  Every day judges are faced with difficult decisions affecting children and youth with foster care system involvement, continually challenged to find the right solutions in each of their cases. 

Through a special Request for Applications (RFA) process earlier in FY 2023, SJI awarded grants to further improve state court efforts in addressing child abuse and neglect.  Over $1.3 million in grant application were received in response to this RFA.  SJI awarded a total of five grants:

  • ○ The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to: 1) standardize three existing dependency court evaluation research databases; 2) analyze variables with strong relationships to improved outcomes, such as the time required to reach final permanency; and 3) translate these findings into model case management reports.
  • ○ The University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work to further develop and refine a multilevel Family Recovery Court that promotes recovery, reunification, and well-being among families with substance use disorder in child welfare. Using a three-pronged approach and community partnership, the FRC’s principles include: 1) keeping families together; 2) ensuring child safety, permanency, and well-being; and 3) advancing the development of adequate resources.
  • ○ The Fifth Judicial District Court of Pennsylvania to develop an implementation plan to establish a multi-disciplinary legal representation office for indigent parents involved in the dependency system who, because of a conflict of interest, cannot be represented by the primary multidisciplinary legal office that handles such matters.
  • ○ The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to develop a supplemental guide that provides courts with virtual hearing guidance specifically related to child welfare proceedings. This supplemental guide will provide policy, practice, and technological recommendations to help courts ensure that virtual dependency proceedings are fair, accessible, and adhere to best practices.  The project will build on the NCSC’s Remote Proceedings Toolkit.
  • ○ The National Association of Women Judges to partner with the NCJFCJ to develop special podcasts for judges on the best practices in handling child abuse and neglect cases.

[1] Children’s Bureau Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Report #9.Online. Available:  https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcarsreport28.pdf.  Released on November 1, 2022.

[2] OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/victims/qa02107.asp?qaDate=2020. Released on April 18, 2022

Senate Confirms SJI Board Member Judge Hernan Vera as U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California

On June 13, 2023, the Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Hernán D. Vera to serve as a federal district judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Judge Vera will preside over matters in Los Angeles in the Court’s Western Division.  Judge Vera previously served as a Principal at Bird Marella in Los Angeles, where he focused his practice on complex civil litigation and class action defense. He also counseled and advised clients on risk management in public matters where a problem-solving, community approach is essential to the success of the litigation. Prior to his time at Bird Marella, he served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono, public interest law firm. He was the first Latino leader of the 40-year-old civil rights organization, which is based in Los Angeles. Judge Vera was a commercial litigator with the international firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he specialized in class actions. Judge Vera has also worked as an Education Staff Attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and clerked for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California. He makes frequent media appearances on issues relating to access to justice, civil rights, and consumer protection. He was appointed to the SJI Board of Directors in 2010. Judge Vera received an A.B., with Distinction, from Stanford University, and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

SJI Board Awards FY 2023 Third Quarter Grants

SJI received 16 grant applications requesting a total of $2,321,097 for the 3rd quarter of FY 2023. The Board met on June 5, 2023, at the Wyoming Supreme Court to make decisions on those applications.

During its meeting, the Board awarded 6 Strategic Initiatives Grants: the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to develop guidelines for the ethnical and evidence-based use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in the state courts, and an AI impact assessment tool; the NCSC to develop, pilot, and disseminate a new strategic planning framework and interactive web application tool that courts can use to address key areas of vulnerability; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) for Phase II of an Initiative to continue to assist state court judges understand and address the needs of military families in the juvenile and family court system; the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice to conduct a Probation and Youth Justice System Review Project in three selected jurisdictions and implement the recommendations from the analysis and review; the NCSC, in coordination with the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators for Phase II of the Blueprint for Racial Justice Initiative; and the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) to partner with NCJFCJ to produce podcasts for judges on best practices in child abuse and neglect cases. 

Nine (9) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: the Hamilton County, Tennessee, Court to partner with the Judicial Innovation Fellowship (JIF) program at the Institute of Technology, Law, and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center to audit and improve how the court and information technology departments across the county share data to better understand court user experiences across the civil and criminal justice systems; the Kansas Judiciary to partner with the JIF program to assess the filing needs of self-represented litigants in Kansas; the NCSC, in collaboration with the CCJ/COSCA Midwest Region, to focus on the issue of “legal deserts” in states where there are areas with few or no lawyers; the Ventura County, California, Superior Court to support a new strategic planning process; the 16th Judicial Circuit of Michigan to develop and strategic plan and priorities for improving access to justice; the Maine Administrative Office of the Courts to assess the organization and operations of the AOC; the Oregon Judicial Department to create a four-year strategic plan; the Kansas Supreme Court to review and update the vision, mission, and strategic goals set forth in the strategic plan; and the Delaware Court of Common Pleas for a caseflow management project.

One (1) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grant to the National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE) to support educational sessions during the 2023 NASJE annual meeting.

Building Mindful Courts Can Promote Well-being and Reduce Stress

While courts are making strides to effectively respond to the needs of court-involved individuals with serious mental illness, it’s also important to focus on the well-being of judges and staff.

Mindfulness can help.

“Building a mindfulness capacity is one strategy many in the public and private sectors are embracing to build thoughtful, creative, and resilient workforces ready to respond to ongoing demands,” said Pam Casey, project director and NCSC Vice President for Research. “Mindfulness involves paying attention in an open and curious way to the experiences of the present moment.”

Last year, NCSC offered an eight-week mindfulness education program to help promote well-being and resilience for judges, court professionals, and others who work with courts. Participants were given access to a free, app-based mindfulness program and invited to 30-minute weekly webinars with a mindfulness instructor. The study, which was funded by the State Justice Institute, found that a hybrid mobile app/webinar program can be an effective way to deliver training to a broader court community but warrants additional research.

Read more at: Mindfulness | NCSC