Peacegiving Court Enhancement Project

This award is made under the FY 2008 Tribal Courts Assistance Program and it supports the development, implementation, enhancement, and continuing operation of tribal justice systems. Allowable elements under the program may include, but are not limited to: establishing a core structure for a tribal court; improving case management; training court personnel; acquiring additional equipment and/or software; enhancing prosecution and indigent defense; supporting probation diversion and alternative sentencing programs; accessing services; focusing on juvenile services and multi disciplinary protocols for child physical and sexual abuse; and structuring intertribal or tribal appellate systems.

The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (The Tribes) will use TCAP Category III, Tier I federal grant funds for Tribal Court Enhancements. The Tribes currently do not have an integrated data management system to track and aggregate data. The Tribal Court will use TCAP funds to address data management capacity issues. The Tribes have very limited crime data and currently rely on the State of Oregon's LEDS system that tracks crimes for the state; however, this database does not capture tribe specific information. The primary goals of the TCAP grant are to address data collection issues by enhancing the electronic court management system that is used to track and aggregate data; and promote and educate the community about the Peacegiving Court. The Tribe will accomplish these goals by hiring a staff person to prepare education materials and provide community outreach promoting the Peacegiving Court; and purchasing and implementing a computer-based court management system. The implementation of these activities will allow The Tribe to improve data collection capacity; evaluate the Peacegiving Court; and compare the outcomes of the Peacegiving Court to other courts.

CA/NCF