FY23 CTCLUSI Tribal Court Enhancement

The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians is a federally recognized tribe located in Coos Count, Oregon. With this funding of the Tribal Judicial Systems Jurisdiction and Enforcement Enhancement project, the tribal court will be empowered to ensure the existing capacity of the court can be maintained, build on this capacity to refine and enhance court services, and expand programs and populations served by the tribal court as well as it Peacegiving and Healing to Wellness court programs. Through fulfilling these goals, the tribal court will address the most pressing public safety and justice issues, including substance abuse by tribal youth and adults. To meet these goals and outcomes, the tribe will maintain and increase staffing capacity through employed and contracted service providers, especially the tribal prosecutor who will lead efforts to develop protocols and policies, written to increase both tribal use of tribal court and use by outside law enforcement and juvenile agencies. The prosecutor will work closely with the tribe’s attorneys to ensure major code revisions to expand tribal court jurisdiction over traffic and offenses, as well as initiate assertion of criminal jurisdiction in order to increase accountability and public safety. The attorneys would put a guardianship code in place and help develop other family law codes. In addition, other court staff will continue to develop outcome measurements and data collection and receive training as court facilitators to enhance services for tribal members and avoid ethical conflicts.