National Problem-Solving Court Technical Assistance Initiative

The National Initiatives: Improving Criminal Courts Program is funded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program), the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, and the Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program. Authorized by Pub. L. No. 112-10, div. B, secs. 1101-1104 and (Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034, 3134, the Byrne Competitive Program, among other purposes, helps communities improve the functioning and capacity of state and local criminal justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs.

The National Initiatives: Improving Criminal Courts Program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance, helps improve criminal justice systems. This program supports funding for national, state, local, and tribal programs/efforts, such as training and technical assistance, to address the needs of state and local justice systems and communities. The FY 2011 program will focus on funding efforts in five major categories.

The Center for Court Innovation (Center) will utilize their funding to help innovators around the country to plan, implement, sustain and evaluate problem-solving court initiatives that link addicted offenders to drug treatment and coordinate sanctions and services through continued judicial supervision while improving outcomes for communities. Specifically, the Center will conduct the following activities: 1. Host a national training workshop for up to 150 practitioners on community courts and how they link offenders to treatment; 2. Promote wider awareness of structured site visits and peer to peer educational opportunities by hosting 250 visitors at community courts; 3. Make up to 25 training workshop presentations on linking addicted offenders to treatment through the court system and other community-based public-safety strategies; 4. Support peer-to-peer exchanges by continuing to moderate two listservs, a national network for problem-solving justice and the other for community justice practitioners; 5. Continue to develop the capacity of the regional mentor community courts to respond to requests for information and visits; 6. Provide ongoing direct technical assistance to up to 15 jurisdictions and respond to up to 200 phone/email requests for assistance from criminal justice professionals interested in how courts can better serve substance abusing offenders and produce better outcomes for communities they serve and; 7. Develop and disseminate two practitioner monographs and six internet articles and features (including podcasts).

CA/NCF