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Designing on a Dime
by Barbara Sweet

In 2006, under a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant, The National Judicial College (NJC) will present six programs in six different states. The NJC has identified the six states as Colorado, Illinois, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington and is currently in negotiations with them. The NJC anticipates designing programs specially tailored to each of the six states, consisting of two- to three-hour segments presented as part of these states' annual conferences. The programs in development for these states are (1) Practical Approaches to Substance Abuse; (2) Co-occurring Mental and Substance Abuse Disorders; (3) Cultural Competence; (4) Handling Pro Se Litigants; (5) Scientific Evidence; and (6) Decision Making.

William Brunson, the NJC's director of special projects, stated, "Because of limited state budgets, the NJC is looking for ways in which it can assist states with their educational programs." While the NJC’s in-state programs may not enable judges to share ideas with and gain new perspectives from other judges across the nation, these programs will provide a sampling of the NJC’s innovative and nationally-recognized offerings.

While the NJC does not plan to make public its materials or faculty list for these programs for use by state educators, in the future the NJC hopes to offer these type of program segments at annual in-state conferences for an honorarium and the expenses to bring it to the states.

To participate in the program in the future state judicial educators should contact Director of Special Projects, William Brunson, at (800) 255-8343 or Brunson@judges.org. He will work with the educator to ascertain if there is a suitable subject matter for that state's needs.