Juvenile Wellness Court Program

The Three Affiliated Tribes, Fort Berthold District Court, is proposing to initiate a Juvenile Tribal Healing to Wellness Court program that will provide the legal authority to implement alternative sanctions. The Juvenile Wellness Court program will utilize similar policies and procedures as the current Adult Wellness Court, after reviewing and identifying changes that are necessary for the juvenile program. Staff will review resources available; meet with partners and initiate MOUs; develop cultural programming, such as community elders as mentors; create community gardens; and develop a grief and intergenerational educational program. MHA Nation has been working on implementation of a Court Wellness Program since 2018 and many meetings and discussions have been held. Staff have been hired, policies and procedures have been developed, and an elders’ board has been put in place. The MHA Nation has some programs and resources available and has been diligently working on coordination of all efforts.