Yurok Tribal Court Enhancement Project

The purposes of the FY 2009 Tribal Courts Assistance Program (TCAP) are to develop new tribal courts, improve the operations of existing tribal courts, and provide training and technical assistance for tribal court staff. The TCAP program goals are to provide planning grants that will focus on establishing tribal courts by supporting the development of comprehensive strategy and implementation plans, provide grants for existing tribal court systems to enhance tribal court services, and provide planning grants for tribal justice system strategies.

The Yurok Tribe will expand and improve the Yurok Tribal Court to provide more effective, tribally-specific interventions that will become an integral part of the rehabilitation process of tribal members involved in the tribal and state court systems. The Yurok Tribal Court will serve all tribal members who become involved in the state justice system through juvenile dependency, adult criminal, and juvenile delinquency cases. They will expand their capacity by hiring a full-time community worker to serve as a liaison between the Yurok Tribal Court and Yurok persons involved in the state court system. The Yurok Tribal Court will also develop an individual assessment tool and improve its data collection system.

CA/NCF