Background Information

History

Mission of the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee

Components of Collaborative Justice Courts

Funding of Collaborative Justice Courts

History

In January 2000, Chief Justice Ronald M. George appointed the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee to explore the effectiveness of such courts and advise the Judicial Council about the role of these courts in addressing complex social issues and problems that make their way to the trial courts. Formation of the committee expanded the scope of the Oversight Committee for the California Drug Court Project, which was appointed by Chief Justice George as of July 1, 1996, and continued until December 31, 1999. On August 3, 2000, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators passed a resolution to support collaborative justice courts.

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Mission of the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee

• Make recommendations to the Judicial Council on criteria for identifying and evaluating collaborative justice courts;
• Assess and measure the success and effectiveness of collaborative justice courts;
• Identify local best practices;
• Recommend minimum judicial education standards and educational activities;
• Advise the council of potential funding sources;
• Make recommendations on grant funding programs administered by the AOC; and
• Recommend appropriate outreach activities to support collaborative justice courts.

Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee reports to the Judicial Council

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Components of Collaborative Justice Courts

Collaborative justice key principles, as defined by the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee, based on the National Association of Drug Court Professionals' (NADCP) 10 components described in "Defining Drug Courts: The Key Components," are as follows:

• Collaborative justice courts integrate services with justice system processing.
• Collaborative justice courts emphasize achieving the desired goals without using the traditional adversarial process.
• Eligible participants are identified early and promptly placed in the collaborative justice court program.
• Collaborative justice courts provide access to a continuum of services, including treatment and rehabilitation services.
• Compliance is monitored frequently.
• A coordinated strategy governs the court's responses to participants' compliance, using a system of sanctions and incentives to foster compliance.
• Ongoing judicial interaction with each collaborative justice court participant is essential.
• Monitoring and evaluation measure the achievement of program goals and gauge effectiveness.
• Effective collaborative justice court operations require continuing interdisciplinary education.
• Forging partnerships among collaborative justice courts, public agencies, and community-based organizations increases the availability of services, enhances the program's effectiveness, and generates local support.
• Effective collaborative justice courts emphasize a team and individual commitment to cultural competency. Awareness of and responsiveness to diversity and cultural issues help ensure an attitude of respect within the collaborative justice court setting.

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Funding of Collaborative Justice Courts

Juvenile Accountability and Incentive Block Grant Program (JAIBG)

Since 1996 the AOC has provided pass-through grants from the state Office of Criminal Justice Planning for drug courts and other collaborative justice courts in California. The first four years of funding provided $3.5 million in general funding to both adult and juvenile criminal drug courts. The fifth year of funding required a change to a "family focus," for juvenile delinquency drug courts, juvenile dependency drug courts, and a family law drug court. Since 2001 the funding was provided to collaborative justice courts in the juvenile justice system, such as juvenile drug courts and peer/youth courts. The grants have ranged from $20,000 to $40,000 per court program. See In the News.

Local assistance grants

Funding for collaborative justice drug court programs has been offered since 2001 through local assistance grants. Collaborative justice courts that incorporated substance abuse services and used drug court principles were funded through this program. See In the News.

AOC's Grant Unit

Grant funding for collaborative justice programs can be obtained from federal, state, and local sources, including the private sector. Staff of the AOC's Grants Unit, in the Executive Office Programs Division, help to coordinate AOC grant programs and also assist the trial courts in efforts to find funding outside the AOC. The Grants Unit maintains listings of currently available grant opportunities from the AOC and other funders.

For more information about AOC grants for collaborative justice programs, contact Patrick Danna at patrick.danna@jud.ca.gov, or for information about grant opportunities outside the AOC, contact Martha Wright at martha.wright@jud.ca.gov.