Statewide Coordination of Problem-Solving Courts: A Snapshot of Five States

• NCJ Number: 236476
• Author(s): Elvita Dominique
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-DC-BX K018
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Issue Overview

Annotation

This report examines statewide coordination of problem-solving courts.

Abstract

This document draws upon that roundtable discussion as well as interviews with statewide coordinators in five jurisdictions (California, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, and New York) to identify the most common goals of statewide coordination. In recent years, States around the country have begun to centralize their administration of problem-solving courts, such as drug courts, mental health courts, domestic violence courts, community courts, and others. This report evaluates the effectiveness of these coordination efforts; the challenges encountered along the way; and the lessons learned so far. Results indicate that all the statewide coordinators acknowledged that they had an important role to play in helping to find resources for problem-solving courts; that the statewide coordinators use research and evaluation as tools to achieve many of the other goals identified in this fact sheet; that research and evaluation are central to fundraising, improving court performance, and training; that statewide coordinators recommended a number of ways to promote strong research and evaluation practices; that statewide coordination has played an important role in improving information management technology to support court operations, program management, and research; and that statewide coordinators work both internally and externally to advance the concept of problem-solving justice. List of additional readings