Category: News And Announcements

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) Adult Guardianship Guide is an essential resource to assist courts in planning, developing, and sustaining a comprehensive court guardianship and conservatorship program. The update to the Adult Guardianship Guide emphasizes the recent recommendations from the State Justice Institute (SJI) and Borchard Foundation grant-supported Fourth National Guardianship Summit. It promotes person-centered planning and the least restrictive options necessary for persons who are unable to fully care for themselves. It identifies provisions within the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act (UGCOPAA) and highlights advancements in court programs and initiatives which enhance existing guardianship practices. The updated Adult Guardianship Guide is publicly available through NACM, and is accessible here.

A newly released report from National Center for State Courts, supported with funding from State Justice Institute, adds a new number of considerable interest to state courts: 277. That’s the number of provisions in the U.S. Code – the body of laws adopted by the United States Congress – that ask state courts to take specific action (or to not take actions) with respect to federal matters.

Read the full report: The-Role-of-State-Courts-in-our-Federal-System.pdf (ncsc.org).

Ten programs in eight states and Puerto Rico will receive recognition for their work in rural communities by the Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC). The programs have been nominated for their innovative practices in justice, child welfare, behavioral health and public health. The RJC showcases the strengths of rural communities and highlights cross-sector collaboration success to overcome unique challenges that impact their ability to deliver fair and equitable justice. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is working with Rulo Strategies on the RJC, with funding support from the State Justice Institute. The work under the RJC is supported by an advisory council composed of rural judges along with additional stakeholders in the justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public health systems.

Innovation sites selected in February 2022 include:

• Eastern Shore Mobile Care Collaborative at Caroline County (Maryland) Health Department. This program expands access to behavioral health treatment and medication-assisted treatment for people with opioid use disorders in rural Maryland.
• For All Seasons, Inc. Serving rural counties along Maryland’s Eastern Shore, For All Seasons is a behavioral health and rape crisis center that offers therapy, psychiatry, rape crisis and mental health services to clients regardless of one’s ability to pay.
• Opioid Response as County Law Enforcement (ORACLE) initiative. This crisis-intervention and recovery response program based out of the Ulster County (NY) Sheriff’s Office provides direct assistance to people who overdose and works with public and private organizations to coordinate a wide array of services.
• Gender Violence Initiative. Serving a rural population in Puerto Rico, the Gender Violence Initiative is a court-based program that works with community partners to connect domestic and sexual violence survivors with victim services and offer a specialized gender court.
• Texoma Alliance to Stop Abuse, Inc. This rural Texas program provides batterers’ intervention and prevention classes and victims’ services including transportation, safety planning, counseling and financial assistance.
• Benevolence Farm. A trauma-informed, nonprofit social enterprise, this program provides transitional employment and housing for formerly incarcerated women in Alamance County and rural communities in North Carolina. Residents develop various life skills, including small business practices, sustainable farming, and food and product preparation.
• Journey Court is a voluntary trauma-informed drug treatment court that provides treatment and intervention services for addicted justice-involved people in Clinton County, Michigan. Participants receive case management, referrals to treatment providers or inpatient facilities, peer recovery support and relapse prevention planning.
• Rankin County Youth Court. This juvenile court provides various intervention and treatment programs for young people and their families involved in delinquency and child protection cases in Mississippi.
• Tennessee Recovery Oriented Compliance Strategy is a court diversion program operating out of Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson, and Sevier counties that serves justice-involved people who are at a lower risk for recidivism but have high behavioral health service needs due to substance use disorders and mental illness.
• Lyon County Human Services Forensic Assessment Triage Team is a jail-based community re-entry program in Nevada that provides treatment intervention and reentry facilitation for the Lyon County Jail. Participants are evaluated for mental health, substance use, basic needs, and risk of reoffending.

To read the full News Release article on NCSC’s website: Rural justice programs across country to receive recognition | NCSC.

Join us! SJI is hosting a free webinar on Federal Grant Management on February 28th, 2022 from 1:00-3:00PM EST.

The webinar will provide an overview of the federal grant system, focusing on key grant management requirements set forth in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (the “Uniform Guidance”) codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (and at 45 C.F.R. Part 75 for Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) awards).  

To register and for more information on the webinar, click here: Federal Grant Management Webinar (mailchi.mp)

Please feel free to share this with others who may have interest in these topics. 

Today, the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) and the D.C. Access to Justice Commission (ATJC) are publishing Strengthening Probate Administration in the District of Columbia. The report, created with support from the State Justice Institute, includes practical recommendations spanning 20 different topic areas, including:

When a person dies, their debts must be paid, and their property distributed, through the probate process. Probate is a complex area of law, and many people cannot afford an attorney to guide them through it. In January 2020, CCE and ATJC formed an expert Working Group to address the challenges faced by self-represented individuals during probate. The working group ultimately developed recommendations in 20 areas to strengthen probate processes for everyone and increase access to justice for low- and moderate-income people.

The report’s release comes after over two years of research into other jurisdictions, case reviews, and interviews with self-represented individuals, D.C. probate court employees, and legal practitioners. The diverse and distinguished Working Group included experienced probate lawyers, public interest advocates, independent subject-matter experts, and Superior Court judges and the Register of Wills as advisory members.

To view the full report, click here: http://www.courtexcellence.org/uploads/File/Strengthening%20Probate%20Admin%20in%20DC%202_9_22.pdf

As the country faces a potential tidal wave of eviction filings, D.C. Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby and Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht author The New York Times essay supporting eviction diversion efforts. Blackburne-Rigsby and Hecht both sit on the advisory council for the National Center for State Courts’ Eviction Diversion Initiative. 

The Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI) is a four-year grant program that offers funding and support to state courts to transform their eviction courts into problem-solving courts that embrace holistic, sustainable, and community-driven strategies for resolving legal problems. The EDI Initiative encourages courts to embrace this opportunity to think differently and to avoid going back to the old way of doing business. Through creative new programs and partnerships, courts can find a better way to managing their eviction courts and to prevent unnecessary and avoidable harm.

The guest essay can be read in its entirety on the website of the The New York Times.

During the FY 2021 grant season, SJI supported a pilot intensive technical assistance opportunity that integrated traditional grant-writing training with intensive one-on-one support to select courts. The training and intensive technical assistance was provided by Tara Kunkel of Rulo Strategies. Thirteen courts were selected to participate in phase one of the training which included completing a self-paced online learning series. Eight courts went on to investigate federal funding opportunities for their court. After the initial meetings, two courts determined that they needed to complete additional planning before proceeding with an application in FY 2021. Six courts submitted federal grant applications. Four of the courts were successful in securing grant awards that amount to $4.2 million dollars in funding.  Congratulations to the New Hampshire Judicial Branch, Warren County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, Clark County (Ohio) Juvenile Court, and the First Circuit, Hawaii Judiciary for their new awards.

The Intensive Federal Grant Writing Technical Assistance is part of SJI’s larger commitment to supporting courts and their justice system partners as they pursue federal and philanthropic funding opportunities. Courts interested in pursuing federal funding in FY 2022 should explore SJI’s Funding Toolkit for State Courts and Justice System Partners to track funding opportunities and gather resources to enhance their grant planning, writing, and administration skills.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is pleased to announce the first round of participants for the Convening County, Court, and Justice Leaders: A Framework for Cross-System Collaboration initiative. The initiative was launched this month by NACo and its partners at Rulo Strategies and Praxis Consulting, with funding from the State Justice Institute. It is designed to support county, court, and justice leaders as they partner to establish local priorities and align resources to achieve their justice and public safety goals. The initial participating sites are:

• Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville, Virginia
• Cuyahoga County, Ohio
• Lake County, Colorado
• Navajo County, Arizona
• Potter County, Pennsylvania

“SJI is pleased to support this opportunity to enhance a collaborative and sustainable relationship between county leaders, judges, and justice stakeholders” said Jonathan Mattiello, Executive Director of the State Justice Institute (SJI).

Selected sites will receive ongoing one-on-one technical assistance, have access to a peer network, and be offered the opportunity to showcase their results in a nationally disseminated toolkit.

Your community can still apply! Five additional sites will be selected to participate in the project starting in early spring. Interested communities should apply by February 11th by 5 p.m. ET. Learn more and apply. Please contact Elynn Lee, NACo Justice Program Manager, at elee@naco.org with any questions.  

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will hold the following two webinars as part of the BJA Grant Applicant Education Series: Funding Opportunities for Your Community in 2022: An Overview of What’s Ahead: January 19, 2022, 1 p.m. ET. This webinar will help prospective applicants find BJA funding opportunities that address their needs. Second webinar: The Funding Process: First Steps to Applying, How to Prepare Now, and Other Considerations: January 26, 2022, 1 p.m. ET. This webinar will provide attendees with information about the registrations that are necessary prior to applying for funding, how to navigate Grants.gov and JustGrants, and resources that are available to applicants. Q&A sessions will be available at the end of each session.