Center staff will coordinate with the Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts, Adult Probabtion Services Division (ASPD) to develop and enhance drug courts statewide pursuant to their FY 2020 BJA-funded grant. This work will include teleconference calls, emails, virtual meetings and possible on-site visits.
In Arizona, Center staff Sheila McCarthy and Monica Christofferson are working with statewide treatment court coordinator Krista Forster to develop a statewide strategy for Arizona’s adult drug treatment courts with a focus on teleservices and addressing training needs. Center staff completed a needs assessment by interviewing the court coordinator of each adult drug treatment court to identify training needs. Moreover, Center staff and Ms. Forster planned and held trainings at each adult treatment court to launch the new statewide best practices standards and address training needs as gleaned from the needs assessment interviews. On April 12, 2022, Ms. Forster, Ms. McCarthy, and Ms. Christofferson presented on the new statewide standards at the Arizona Association of Treatment Court Professional’s 2022 Annual Training Conference.
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On November 25, 2020, Center staff Annie Schachar, Monica Christofferson, Sheila McCarthy, and Jarred Williams held an exploratory call with Arizona statewide drug court coordinator, Krista Forster, to discuss the state's 2020 BJA-funded grant. The grant proposal included equipping all adult drug courts with teleservices, expanding courts' capacity to meet high-risk/high-need probationers, providing training to all courts, and adding more drug testing and counselors to reach rural and under-served participants. Center staff held additional follow-up conversations to narrow down and prioritize areas of assistance. Based on the results of the these calls, Center staff will compose a work plan with proposed areas of collaboration and make recommendations for action steps for Ms. Forster's review and final approval.
On January 26, Center staff Sheila McCarthy submitted a draft work plan to statewide drug court coordinator, Krista Forster for review and approval. This project is will involved a two-pronged statewide strategy for Arizona adult drug treatment courts, focusing on teleservices and training needs. The state's use of teleservices will allow Arizona drug courts to expand access to services and provide participants with remote treatment and peer support as well as allow drug court staff to engage in supervision and communication. The work plan includes a preliminary needs assessment of existing services to identify opportunities for teleservices use; holding planning workshops with key stakeholders and drafting a strategic plan of recommendations; and implementing support of strategic plan recommendations. Center staff await feedback and recommendations from the team in Alabama.
On May 6, Center staff Monica Christofferson, Sheila McCarthy, and Jarred WIlliams facilitated a focus group of 13 local drug court coordinators. This focus group is in furtherance of needs assessment that will be used to develop a statewide teleservices and training plan. Coordinators were asked questions about the state’s training needs as they relate to data collection and law enforcement and current use of teleservices. In the months prior, statewide coordinators Krista Forster advised that the Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts was encountering difficulties extracting grant funds from the JustGrants website.
In June, Center staff Sheila McCarthy reached out to the statewide coordinator Krista Forster to inquire as to whether the state is continuing to endure difficulties with the JustGrants. Although the state is still waiting to receive those funds, Ms. McCarthy discuss with Ms. Forster the statewide rollout of best practice standards and how the Center will support tailored training in counties on these standards. Following the rollout of the best practices, Center staff will work with Arizona’s statewide specialty court coordinator and other stakeholders to draft a needs assessment report with findings and recommendations focusing on county training needs and teleservices delivery.
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