Social Workers

The Meridian Community Court Initiative intends to focus on housing support, high school equivalency degrees, employment training, mental health support, and substance use treatment for the community. The team has experienced communication and engagement issues due to significant personnel shifts and firewalls in their municipal court email domain. In early July, they hired the East Mississippi Planning & Development District to be the new administrators of the grant with the hope that the new administrators will support them in reinvigorating the planning process.

The Las Vegas Justice Court’s Community Court Stabilization Program is enhancing their current operations with wraparound case management and housing for those who can effectively manage their mental health needs and substance use treatment plans with minimal interventions and support.

The Fort Bend County Community Court Program has continued to enhance and expand access to treatment services for their nonviolent offenders. The site has created a vast network of social service providers to foster healing and maintain robust data to ensure their team is delivering justice in a way that is fair and equitable. The site has continued to provide tailored support and resources to their participants and has continued to empower individuals on a path to recovery and renew their lives.

The Kalispel Tribal Healing to Wellness Court is a Community Court Program that has been working to implement a multitrack program to address the overall needs of their tribal community. The Kalispel Tribal Team attended various trainings and events including the Spokane Community Court Program mentor court site visit and the Tribal Healing to Wellness Implementation and Enhancement Trainings in September.

The Hollywood Community Court Program has continued to implement strategies to address the root causes of their participant’s challenges. The site has created a vast network of social service providers to foster healing and build a safer community. The site has continued to provide tailored support and resources to their participants and has pivoted away from the traditional labor model of community service in order to provide more restorative support to their participants, highlighting participants are asked to write essays or attend classes in lieu of labor work.

The Arlington Community Court Program has continued to implement their initiative and has honed in on targeted outreach. The site increased their community engagement by performing data analysis, resource mapping, community forums, and decision maker interviews to identify gaps and tailor resources directed towards addressing their community needs. In September, the Arlington team attended the mentor court site visit at the South Dallas Community Court Program and connected with justice partners to exchange ideas and foster collaboration.

The Albany County Adult Diversion Program sent their director and diversion coordinator to the Eugene regional convening. Following this, they soft launched in March and have a growing participant load. The court finalized both its case management system, a state-provided program called CST/MS, and its risk-need assessment tool, the LS/CMI. The Albany County court also established a contract with a local defense attorney who will provide services for both applicants and participants who need legal representation.

Objective 1: Use the hub and spoke model to engage all necessary and appropriate subject matter expertise to support Justice Counts design and implementation.?? (Partners)?

Objective 2: Continuously review the metrics, technology, solution for states, and related resources and refine as needed.?? (Tier 1 Metrics and TIGs/ Publisher Updates)?

Objective 3: Promote Justice Counts with the goal of increasing participation and support.? (Developing Promotional Materials and Conference Appearances)?
In New Mexico, CSG Justice Center staff completed a Justice Counts tool for the New Mexico Association of Counties for an upcoming presentation to New Mexico County Commissioners.
This month, participating Justice Counts agencies used resources created by CSG Justice Center staff in the following ways: