Community Courts

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.

Presentation at MN Gun Violence Research Summit on ERPO

Representatives from the CSG Justice Center delivered a series of presentations at the Stepping Up Alabama Summit. The summit convened community mental health center staff; sheriffs and their staff; and county commissioners to kick off the latest round of grant funding for Stepping Up from the Alabama Department of Mental Health.

Representatives from the CSG Justice Center delivered a series of presentations at the Stepping Up Alabama Summit. The summit convened community mental health center staff; sheriffs and their staff; and county commissioners to kick off the latest round of grant funding for Stepping Up from the Alabama Department of Mental Health.

Plenary 1: Brain Injury and the Criminal Legal System: Recommendations and Initiatives from the Bureau of Justice Administration

Center staff accepted applications and selected six mentor court programs to support both current grantees and the community court field at large.
The following four sites were matched with several sub-cohorts of current BJA grantees to work directly with them: (Boulder, CO; Austin, TX; South Dallas, TX; Spokane, WA)
These four mentor courts meet with their respective sub-cohort of grantees on a monthly to quarterly basis and will host site visits for their respective sub-cohorts during the next reporting period, facilitated by Center TTA staff.