Category: News And Announcements

Court Voices Project: New Report

With support from State Justice Institute, LaGratta Consulting, LLC, in collaboration with Rulo Strategies, LLC and the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work is assisting twelve pilot criminal courts by collecting and analyzing court user and court staff feedback to assess the value of COVID-19 pandemic-response practices.  Through coordination and lesson-mining of these pilot sites, and the creation of web-based practitioner tools, the project is offering guidance to state courts on how court users and staff have experienced new practices, bringing valuable insights into court leaders’ decision-making process.  This new publication documents user feedback in the pilot sites. 

Rural Peer Exchange Site Visit Opportunity: Justice Partnerships to Address Substance Use

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), is pleased to announce a peer exchange opportunity for rural communities on October 19–20, 2022 (with additional travel days required depending on your home location). Up to six rural communities will be selected to receive travel scholarships through the State Justice Institute to participate. These travel scholarships will allow each community to send a team of four practitioners to participate in the structured, 2-day peer exchange at no cost.

IMPORTANT:

Request forms for the peer exchange TTA opportunity in Lenoir County will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to submit their forms as early as possible but no later than September 21. Applicants are also encouraged to check https://www.cossapresources.org/Status/Peer-Exchange-Submissions to determine whether the opportunity is still open.

The peer exchange will be based in Lenoir County, North Carolina, a rural community in the eastern part of the state, and includes a visit on the second day to Wayne County, an adjacent community approximately 30 minutes away. Throughout the 2-day site visit, the six visiting teams will have the opportunity to learn about and observe the many successful aspects of Lenoir and Wayne Counties’ comprehensive, multidisciplinary substance use response, including:

  • The Family Accountability and Recovery Court (FARC). This family treatment court program serves rural Lenoir, Wayne, and Greene Counties. The FARC program supports parents and families entering the child welfare system because of parental substance use disorders. The court team includes two judges, a case coordinator, a case administrator, a parent attorney, a guardian ad litem, treatment providers, child welfare case workers, transitional housing representatives, vocational rehabilitation representatives, a community college representative, parenting support staff, peer support specialists and, when needed, a domestic violence treatment provider.
  • The Women’s House of Hope. This program is a 12-bed transitional housing facility operated by Hope Restorations. Hope Restorations is a transitional employment and training program for adults recovering from addiction or incarceration. In addition to housing, the Women’s House of Hope offers transitional employment, recovery groups, aftercare resources, and computer classes through the local library. Residents of the Women’s House of Hope can work at a local thrift store recently opened by Hope Restoration.
  • The Wayne County Detention Center’s jail-based medication-assisted treatment program, which includes a day reporting center.
  • The Wayne County Community College partnership with the detention center, which supports individuals earning a high school equivalency diploma while in custody. The community college is also a partner in the FARC and provides education services to treatment court participants. 
  • Local employers, including the Mother Earth Motor Lodge, that work closely with the treatment court to provide employment opportunities for treatment court participants.

Through this peer exchange, visiting teams can discuss and share best practices, exchange ideas and knowledge, and engage in peer networking events. Visiting teams also will be provided opportunities to meet together and process the information as a team.

For more information on this opportunity, including eligibility requirements, please view the request form here.

Technical Assistance Request Timeline

Request forms will be reviewed and approved on a rolling basis, with selections made no later than September 21.

Notification of selection:
By September 21, 2022

Technical Assistance Request Checklist
____Technical Assistance Request Form
The technical assistance request form should be emailed to COSSAP@iir.com.

Questions
If you have any questions about completing this form or have submission issues, please email COSSAP@iir.com.

Register Now! Family Treatment Court (FTC)

Register Now! Children and Family Futures (CFF) will be hosting Family Treatment Court (FTC) Practice Academy 2022: Beyond Counting: Strategies to Collect and (Actually) Use Your FTC Data on August 30th, 2022, at 2:00PM EST. FTC teams use data to achieve equitable access and results, identify barriers to success, and support sustainability—all with the common purpose of improving outcomes for children, parents, and family members affected by substance use disorders.

Register here: Meeting Registration – Zoom

Upcoming Webinar! The Role of Risk Assessments & Evaluations in Sentencing Drug-Impaired Drivers

Upcoming Webinar! The National Judicial College (NJC) will be hosting: The Role of Risk Assessments & Evaluations in Sentencing Drug-Impaired Drivers tomorrow: Wednesday, August 17th, 2022, from 3:00-4:15PM EST. 

In this webinar, participants will cite the need for, and difference between, DUI specific assessment tools and identify how to best utilize them when sentencing drug-impaired drives.

To register now for this free online webinar: The Role of Risk Assessments & Evaluations in Sentencing Drug-Impaired Drivers – The National Judicial College (judges.org)

New Resource! Engaging Parents and Youth with Lived Experience

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW), the Children’s Bureau (CB) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have collaborated to create: Engaging Parents and Youth with Lived Experience: Strengthening Collaborative Policy and Practice Initiatives for Families with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. This resource provides key considerations for recruiting and engaging those with lived experience who were involved with child welfare associated with a substance use disorder or other mental health challenge. It also highlights considerations for engaging youth who have spent time in the foster care system.

Parents and youth can offer valuable insight, based on first-hand experience, that helps agencies implement strategies to improve outcomes for those served.

To access this new resource: Final_LiveExperience (hhs.gov)

New IAALS Report: Strides in Legal Innovation, Oregon Greenlights Licensed Paralegal Program

The Oregon Supreme Court approved the Licensed Paralegal (LP) Program, a program that will license individuals who aren’t lawyers to provide limited legal services in family law and landlord/tenant issues, two areas with the greatest unmet need for legal assistance in the state. This makes Oregon the fifth state in the country to enlist a new tier of legal professionals in the effort to provide more access to legal help. The LP program will train paralegals to assist with a variety of legal issues, including divorce and separation, custody and parenting time, child and spousal support, and forced entry and wrongful detainer.

Some of their duties include:

  • Meeting with potential clients to evaluate and determine needs and goals, as well as provide advice
  • Filing documents and pleadings with the court 
  • Preparing for, participating in, and representing a party in settlement discussions, including mediation 
  • Attending court appearances and depositions with clients to provide support and assistance in procedural matters

Fortunately, states like Utah, Arizona, and Minnesota have also embraced new tiers of legal professionals. As IAALS Manager Michael Houlberg, “There’s a big push. Since 2020, there have been more than 10 states that have developed proposals.” Building on this momentum, IAALS’ newly launched Allied Legal Professionals project aims to help standardize these legal professional programs nationally, in order to expand the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public. Programs like Oregon’s are exemplary of what we hope to eventually see spread even further across the country.

To read the full article, please visit: Oregon Joins Growing List of States Empowering Legal Professionals to Help More People | IAALS (du.edu)

Rural Justice Collaborative: New Video Released

In 2021, with support from 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 video below highlights the mission of the RJC: https://vimeo.com/735789228

Announcing the Launch of the Reaching Rural Initiative

On behalf of The United States Department of Justice, OJP Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the State Justice Institute (SJI); the National Association of Counties and the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, we are excited to share with you a new initiative, Reaching Rural: Advancing Collaborative Solutions. BJA, CDC, and SJI are supporting this initiative as part of an ongoing interagency partnership to strengthen public safety and public health collaboration under BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP). COSSAP provides funding and training and technical assistance (TTA) to state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to support a comprehensive response to illicit substance use and misuse; reduce overdose deaths; promote public safety; and support access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services in the community and justice system.

What is the Reaching Rural initiative?

The Reaching Rural initiative is a one-year initiative. Over the course of the year, the selected individuals and teams will receive coaching and participate in skill-building workshops as well as virtual and in-person learning experiences.

Participation in the Reaching Rural initiative includes:

·Travel and per diem costs to participate in an orientation, a field visit to observe the implementation of evidence-informed practices in a rural setting, and a closing session at the end of the 12 months. This is not a grant opportunity.

· Monthly mentorship and guidance aimed toward your local needs.

· Monthly assignments that help you apply core concepts to your local community or region.

· Access to a diverse network of rural peers, innovative rural communities, and technical assistance providers.

· Formal recognition for completing the planning initiative.

Apply now! Seeking Applicants for the Reaching Rural Initiative – Deadline September 30th, 2022. For more information click on the image below or visit: Reaching_Rural_Solicitation-Final.pdf (cossapresources.org)

Reaching_Rural_Solicitation-Final-1 Download

NCSC Publishes Best Practices for Court Building Security 2022 Edition

Now in its fourth edition, Steps to Best Practices for Court Building Security delivers updated guidance on a diverse array of court security topics. Examples include recommendations for implementing remote hearings for in-custody defendants and recommendations for security technology. The new release highlights how courts can integrate technology into building infrastructure—including security control centers, alarms, access control technology, and cameras. The updated guidance also incorporates greater attention to how architectural design can create safe separation and circulation for all court participants. The 2022 update also reinforces fundamental security concepts for courts of all shapes and sizes.

To help courts achieve these fundamental practices, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) evaluates the effectiveness of court building security programs through responses to questions, such as:

  • Is there a Court Security Committee in place? How does it function?
  • Who is “in charge” of security in the courthouse? How do you know who’s in charge?
  • What policies and procedures are in place? How are they developed?
  • What training and exercise programs are in place? Who participates and how often are they conducted?
  • Who gets screened for weapons?
  • Who has access after hours?
  • What is your role and responsibilities with respect to security?

To learn more about NCSC’s court security services, please visit the Court Security and Emergency Preparedness web page.