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. In 2021, the National Center for State Courts, in partnership with Rulo Strategies, 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. A cross-sector Advisory Council composed of rural judges and stakeholders in the justice, public safety, child welfare, public health, and behavioral health systems guide the work of the RJC. The current Advisory Council is composed of ten rural judges and nine rural justice stakeholders representing diverse disciplines.
The RJC Innovation Sites are the foundation of the RJC’s peer-to-peer training and technical assistance program designed to build rural justice systems’ capacity. RJC Innovation sites showcase work in rural communities that enhances rural justice systems and celebrates the people who make these efforts possible. Through a rolling nomination process, the RJC’s Advisory Council has selected 18 rural innovation sites to date. Rural communities can access the resources and information needed to replicate components of these initiatives through case studies, webinars, and podcasts hosted on RJC’s Online Resource Center.
The RJC Digest is also an important source for information about resources and training opportunities. Subscribe to the RJC Digest here. For more information, contact Michelle Cern (mcern@ncsc.org).
February 1, 2023
DV AWARE stands for Domestic Violence Analysis, Warning, Action, Recovery, and Engagement. Perpetrators of domestic violence can threaten the safety and well-being not only of their intimate partners and children, but also courts and communities. Beginning with a grant from SJI in 2021, the DV AWARE Project sought to support juvenile and family court systems …
January 1, 2023
On March 30, 2020, the Boards of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators took action to establish National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts Response to Mental Illness to assist state courts in their efforts to more effectively respond to the needs of court-involved individuals with serious mental illness. …
December 1, 2022
During the pandemic, the Puerto Rico Office of Courts Administration (OCA) created an email account through which self-represented litigants (SRLs) seeking an emergency restraining order, a temporary detention or an involuntary admission order related to the Mental Health Code could file their petition to the Municipal Court. SRLs could download, complete, and submit the applicable …
November 1, 2022
In January 2022, the National Association of Counties, Rulo Strategies, and Praxis Consulting launched a new initiative to support justice-oriented strategic planning co-led by judges and elected county leaders. This timely project leveraged the renewed interest many courts have, coming out of the pandemic, in partnering with local stakeholders to expand the resources available to …
October 1, 2022
In 2020, the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) received a SJI grant to assess the court’s access to and use of mental health and substance use recovery services within the community. Funding allowed the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) to conduct an assessment of strengths, opportunities and challenges that judges, court personnel and …
September 1, 2022
The emergence of COVID-19 has had widespread effects throughout the court system and quarantine orders slowed operations. The Supreme Court of Ohio anticipated an influx of evictions and foreclosure filings in Ohio’s trial courts, as well as a backlog of civil cases. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor directed the Office of Court Services to convene stakeholders …