Probation and Youth Justice System Review Guidebook

New Resource! The Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice (RFKNRCJJ)’s Probation and Youth Justice System Review Guidebook. We are pleased to announce the release of the new Probation and Youth Justice System Review (System Review) Guidebook, developed for probation departments, courts, and youth justice systems seeking to improve outcomes for the young people they serve, thereby achieving shared goals for reducing risk for future delinquent behavior, holding youth accountable, supporting sustainable positive behavior change, and improving community safety.

This new resource builds upon the RFK National Resource Center’s seminal System Review framework used in partnership with 32 state and local jurisdictions throughout the country to achieve substantial improvements in youth outcomes and system performance. The System Review Guidebook aligns with the most up-to-date and relevant research on adolescent development, risk-needs-responsivity approaches, comprehensive behavioral health screening and assessment (including trauma), graduated responses, family engagement, implementation and change management science, and data-driven management and reporting. It also features current jurisdictional examples to illustrate different aspects of the System Review process, as well as on-the-ground perspectives from jurisdictional leaders who can provide firsthand insight on the challenges and successes experienced within their respective communities.

Access here: Probation and Youth Justice System Reform | Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice (rfknrcjj.org)

Pilot Sites Celebrate, Reflect on Community Engagement Success

More than two-dozen state court leaders and academics met Tuesday in Arlington, Virginia, to celebrate—and put the final exclamation point on—the work of the Community Engagement in the State Courts Initiative.

First launched as a response to the U.S. Department of Justice investigation of Ferguson, Missouri, the goal of the project has been to get “proximate” to socioeconomically disadvantaged, underserved communities, in order to help advance understanding of how courts can best engage these communities to address structural, institutional, and other problems which undermine trust and confidence in the courts.

“The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and renewed racial unrest around the world made these community engagement projects all the more important,” said Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, who served as one of the chairs of the effort, and who currently serves as co-chair of CCJ-COSCA’s Public Engagement, Trust and Confidence committee.

Participants reflected on the long arc of the project, which included a multi-city, PBS-broadcast “Listening Tour” in 2017, but more recently, pilot projects across six jurisdictions, each of which tried a slightly different approach to engaging with their communities. Reports from the six pilot jurisdictions, as well as an online “how to” community engagement toolkit, are available on the NCSC website.

Funding for the multi-year effort came from NCSC, the State Justice Institute, the California Endowment, and the Public Welfare Foundation.

New Publication: A National Compendium of Court Navigation Programs

Policy Research Associates, in partnership with the State Justice Institute, is pleased to announce the release of a new publication, A National Compendium of Court Navigation Programs. This Compendium provides an overview of 18 court navigation programs operating in 22 states across the United States. A court navigation program provides guidance and information about court processes and procedures to people in contact with the court system. In addition, the programs can link people to resources related to their behavioral health, economic, and social service-related needs.

The Compendium provides an overview of each program’s funding source, its core components, and its implementation. Each program overview is accompanied by a checklist showing where the program’s navigators provide support across the legal system. Program overviews also have checklists outlining specific services each program offers related to a person’s behavioral health, economic, social, and legal needs.

The Compendium can serve as a tool for courts to develop their own court navigation program or to expand an existing program’s services. It can also assist court administrators, treatment and service providers, families, and community members with foundational knowledge to ensure that people in contact with the court system can have their needs met and navigate the court system successfully.

This Compendium is available for free download. 

Download the Compendium here: https://www.prainc.com/resources/compendium-court-navigation-programs/.

Rural Justice Collaborative Seeking Innovation Site Nominations

Applications Due: July 31st, 2023

RURAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE (RJC)
Rural communities face unique challenges that impact their ability to deliver fair and equitable justice. Despite these challenges, rural communities rely on their many strengths to address the needs of their residents. The RJC is designed to highlight the success found in rural justice systems. More information about the RJC can be found at www.ruraljusticecollaborative.org.  
 
RJC SEEKING INNOVATION SITE NOMINATIONS (APPLICATION)
The RJC is soliciting nominations for rural justice programs or initiatives that were developed in rural communities or adapted for rural communities that fall into the RJC’s seven areas of focus. To be considered, a program or initiative must:

  • Primarily serve justice-involved individuals or families engaged in the court system or be designed to increase access to legal representation.
  • Reflect innovation that is specific to a rural community.
  • Have been operational for a least one year.
  • Have a written description of the initiative, practice, or program.
  • Have an interest in serving as a mentor for other rural communities.

Priority consideration will be given to initiatives that are multi-disciplinary in nature (at least two agencies representing two different disciplines must be involved). Past Innovation Sites can be found here.

New IAALS Report on State Court Civil Filings: The Trends, Drivers of Change, and Importance of Data

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announced today that it released its new The Past and Future of State Court Civil Filings report. This report provides important new insights into long-term filing trends and areas where courts may need resource shifts, like declining tort and small claims cases and increasing debt-collection cases. Building off a review of historical events, IAALS also developed a framework around the numerous factors that may influence filings, which can further guide analysis.

In 2022, the World Justice Index ranked the United States 115 out of 140 countries as to whether people can access and afford civil justice. With 66 percent of the population experiencing at least one legal issue over a four-year period, according to IAALS’ US Justice Needs study, there is significant work to do to improve access to justice. Court systems are among those sources of help that improve the chances of resolution. By focusing on state court filings over time, The Past and Future of State Court Civil Filings aims to provide additional insights into the specific role that courts have played in resolving cases, how that role might be changing, and the factors that are expected to continue to influence the filing of cases in our courts going forward.

“Historically, it’s been accepted that state court case filings climb over time in step with population growth, which has informed court planning for buildings, staff, judges, and other resources. More recently, however, courts saw a decline in filings, now followed by fluctuation stemming from the pandemic,” says IAALS CEO Brittany Kauffman. “Courts need a better understanding of what types of cases are being brought before them—and in what numbers—so that planning and policymaking can respond accordingly.”

To bring more clarity and guidance, this report presents a multifaceted study that explores civil case filings over a long timeframe—16 to 41 years—in four states: California, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. While it is critical to look at filings in the short term given the current recent challenges of the pandemic, this longer view of filings challenges us to think more deeply about changes over time, influencing factors, and takeaways for planning, policymaking, and reform efforts.

Read the full article here: New IAALS Report on State Court Civil Filings: The Trends, Drivers of Change, and Importance of Data | IAALS (du.edu)


New Webinar! Active Judging in Eviction Court

Eviction dockets are often fast-paced and high-volume, which can create challenges for the overwhelming numbers of litigants appearing without counsel and struggling to understand the legal process and their options. Judges from three different jurisdictions will describe how they have adopted principles of active judging to increase understanding, ensure due process, and expand access to resources for litigants in eviction court.

NCSC will be hosting this webinar on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, at 3:00PM EST.

Register here: Webinar Registration – Zoom

JMI and NIC Announce Release of National Standards for Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils and Essential Elements Document

The Justice Management Institute (JMI), in collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), is proud to introduce two groundbreaking publications designed to support jurisdictions with criminal justice coordinating councils (CJCCs). The first publication, entitled National Standards for Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils, offers a comprehensive framework for jurisdictions to create or improve a coordinating council. Its companion publication, CJCC Essential Elements, delineates the core characteristics that define high-performing CJCCs.

These publications aim to help jurisdictions optimally structure and operate their coordinating councils, positioning their local CJCCs to effectively address challenges within the criminal justice system and facilitate meaningful change. The CJCC Essential Elements includes two practical tools: the CJCC Elements Checklist and the CJCC Elements Assessment Tool. The checklist highlights crucial components for jurisdictions to consider when forming a CJCC, while the assessment tool enables them to evaluate the extent to which their councils align with national standards.  Complementing these new resources, JMI and NIC recently published the National Survey of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils. Serving as the foundation for the national standards and essential elements, this publication offers additional information on coordinating councils that jurisdictions may find valuable.

Request for Applications: Enhancing State and Local Court Efforts to Further Address Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices

Application Deadline: June 30th, 2023

Background:

In 2016, the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) established the National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices to:-develop recommendations and tools to promote the fair and efficient enforcement of the law;-ensure no person is denied access to the justice system based on race, culture, or lack of economic resources; and,-develop policies relating to Legal Financial Obligations that promote access, fairness, and transparency.

State Justice Institute, along with the U. S. Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance, provided grant funding to support the work of the Task Force. The Task Force produced the Principles on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices, in addition to numerous additional resources in the Resource Center. Though system improvements have been made in some jurisdictions, the equitable enforcement of fines and fees, along with issues related to bail practices, remains. Through a special Request for Applications (RFA) process, SJI will award grants to further improve state court efforts to address fines, fees, and bail practices. SJI intends to award grants that will enhance state and local courts’ ability to:

-Review these practices to ensure processes are fair and access to justice is assured.

-Develop processes and procedures for indigency review.-Implement alternative forms of sanctions.

-Implement processes that replace money-based pretrial practices with those based on a presumption of pretrial release by the least restrictive means reasonable to assure appearance in court and promote public safety.

-Ensure pretrial release practices include connections to wrap-around services, such as legal and non-legal navigators, behavioral health, housing, and public health services.

-Promote transparency, governance, and structural reforms for better court oversight of legal financial obligations.

In addition to meeting all other application requirements, SJI will give priority consideration for funding to projects that focus on institutionalizing and/or replicating the Principles on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices of the CCJ/COSCA National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices.

ELIGIBILITY

SJI is authorized by Congress to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. For the purposes of this RFA, eligibility is limited to the following entities:

• State and local courts and their agencies (42 U.S.C. 10705(b)(1)(A)).

• Other eligible grant recipients (42 U.S.C. 10705 (b)(2)(A)–(D)).SJI may also make awards to state or local agencies and institutions other than courts for services that cannot be adequately provided through nongovernmental arrangements (42 U.S.C. 10705(b)(3)).

SJI is prohibited from awarding grants to federal, tribal, and international courts.

Funding Categories

Eligible applicants may apply for funding based on the categories below.

Category 1-Local Court: Eligible local court applicants may apply for up to $50,000 for a period of up to 12 months.

Category 2-State or Territory Supreme Court and/or the Administrative Office of the Courts: Eligible state (or territory) supreme courts and/or administrative court office applicants may apply for up to $100,000 for a period of up to 12 months. They may also submit applications on behalf of one or more local courts for up to $50,000 per locality for up to 12 months and must agree that all funds will go directly to the local court(s).Note: No grant funds or cash match may be used to pay the salary and related costs for a current or new employee of a court or other unit of government. Cash match for these grants will be waived; however, applicants are encouraged to include as much cash and in-kind match as possible towards their proposed project.

Full instructions are available here: Request-for-Applications-Fines-Fees-Bail_5.1.2023.pdf (sji.gov)

New Guidance on Privacy Protection for Domestic Violence Survivors Now Available Online

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC)’s new Protecting the Privacy of Domestic Violence Survivors course provides best practices to guide courts and providers on improving policies and procedures designed to protect survivors’ privacy and inform survivors of their rights. Available in English and Spanish, the online, self-paced course provides an overview of information that needs to be protected, discussion of a survivor-centered approach to service delivery, ways to safely communicate with survivors and institutions and defining roles and responsibilities for promoting confidentiality.

“Courts and service providers must carefully protect any information potentially useful for identifying or locating survivors,” said Felix Bajandas, an NCSC principal court management consultant and project director. “This includes, but is not limited to, a combination of characteristics such as zip code, gender and date of birth.”

Available in English and Spanish, the online, self-paced course provides an overview of information that needs to be protected, discussion of a survivor-centered approach to service delivery, ways to safely communicate with survivors and institutions and defining roles and responsibilities for promoting confidentiality. The estimated completion time is 10 minutes.

In addition to the course, the Violence Against Women (VAWA) and the Courts partnership has developed tools and resources to support survivors, including:

For more information, visit VAWA and the Courts.