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 4, 2022
SJI awarded grant funding to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (“Court”) to produce a jury orientation video for its unified court system. The video replaced a 30-year-old video featuring actor Raymond Burr. The Court drafted, produced, and disseminated a timeless video to be used during jury orientation to explain the basics of …
January 3, 2022
We have long known that family matters challenge a court system that assumes people will be represented by attorneys and that proceedings should be adversarial. The Cady Initiative for Family Justice Reform (formerly “Family Justice Initiative”) exists to guide courts towards improved outcomes for families, while managing costs and controlling delays. First funded by the …
December 1, 2021
Twelve courts from around the country have completed a six-month pilot as part of LaGratta Consulting’s Court Voices Project, where they asked both court staff and court users for their feedback on courts’ pandemic responses. While most of the pilot courts had little to no experience collecting feedback from court users in the past, all …
November 1, 2021
The Franklin County (Ohio) Municipal Court has a Self-Help Resource Center (the Center) which works daily to improve the quality of court filings filed by pro se litigants, increase access to the justice system for individuals who cannot afford attorneys, and provide a positive point of contact between the Court and the community. The Center …