News
NCJFCJ Update

Juvenile Drug Court Training
The Alcohol and Other Drugs Division of the Juvenile and Family Law Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges planned and conducted two juvenile drug court workshops in the early part of 2009 with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. “Enhancing Your Juvenile Drug Court – Moving Your Juvenile Drug Court from Where it is To Where You Want it to be!” was designed to help take juvenile drug courts to the next level in program operation. In this innovative training, teams assessed their current practices; enhanced the continuum of care for their juvenile drug court clients; discussed practical solutions to on-going challenges; and engaged in valuable networking opportunities. A total of 215 juvenile drug court professionals completed this training held in Dallas, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky.

The Alcohol and Other Drugs Division anticipates announcing the dates and locations for the next series of juvenile drug court trainings in March 2009. This series of trainings will encompass planning issues and subject matter areas. Please check the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges website for more information, or contact Jessica Pearce at jpearce@ncjfcj.org or at (775) 784-1661.

Peer Reviewers Sought
The Alcohol and Other Drugs Division is seeking peer reviewers for a new Technical Assistance Brief and Component Checklist: “Moving Your Juvenile Drug Court to Where You Want it to Be: Managing and Sustaining Your Juvenile Drug Court Model” and “Ensuring Fidelity to the Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice Monograph (16 Strategies) - A Program Component Checklist”. The Component Checklist is a valuable tool for juvenile drug courts to use when assessing program operations and follows the 16 Strategies (see attached). The anticipated date of release for these resources is May 2009. If you are interested in reviewing this Technical Assistance Brief and Checklist, please contact Wendy Schiller at wschiller@ncjfcj.org or at (775) 784-1748.

Judicial Training Opportunities
The Juvenile and Family Law Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, anticipates offering two statewide or regional trainings in the U.S. before June 2009. These 3-4 day trainings, traditionally offered as part of the Fall program series for juvenile and family court judges in Reno, Nevada, cover “Judicial Response to Alcohol and Other Drugs” and “Evidence in Juvenile and Family Courts”. With reductions in travel budgets for many counties and states, the plan is to take these trainings to the field in collaboration with interested jurisdictions/training agencies. If you are interested in hosting or partnering on one or both of these trainings, please contact Iris Key at ikey@ncjfcj.org or (775) 784-1663.

Delinquency Court Improvement Training and Technical Assistance
The Juvenile and Family Law Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges contracts to provide training and technical assistance to support the implementation of the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases. The Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines is a comprehensive guide to improving juvenile court practice and outcomes for youth, families, and communities, and was developed with support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. After three years of work by over 100 experts in juvenile justice and allied fields, the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines was published in 2005 for use by judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, child advocates, probation officers, law enforcement, and service providers nationwide. This important tool is framed by 16 Key Principles and numerous recommendations for practice. For more information about the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines and implementation support, please visit our website under the “Juvenile Delinquency” link, or contact Cheri Ely at cely@ncjfcj.org or at (775) 784-6854.

72nd Annual Conference
Plan to attend the 72nd Annual Conference of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges on July 12-15, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. For more information about this conference and other upcoming training opportunities, please visit www.ncjfjc.org under the “Conferences” link.

Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice (2003)
Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice (2003) was created by a diverse group of juvenile drug court practitioners, researchers, and educators from across the country who were brought together by the National Drug Court Institute (a division of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The group included representatives from courts, prosecution, public defense, treatment, probation, court administration, academia, education, and training. Together these 16 strategies, summarized below, comprise the framework for planning and operating a juvenile drug court. For the complete monograph, including recommendations for implementation, please visit www.ncjfcj.org or download at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/197866.pdf.

1. Collaborative Planning: Engage all stakeholders in creating an interdisciplinary, coordinated, and systemic approach to working with youth and their families.

2. Teamwork: Develop and maintain an interdisciplinary, nonadversarial work team.

3. Clearly Defined Target Population and Eligibility Criteria: Define a target population and eligibility criteria that are aligned with the program’s goals and objectives.

4. Judicial Involvement and Supervision: Schedule frequent judicial reviews and be sensitive to the effect that court proceedings can have on youth and their families.

5. Monitoring and Evaluation: Establish a system for program monitoring and evaluation to maintain quality of service, assess program impact, and contribute to knowledge in the field.

6. Community Partnerships: Build partnerships with community organizations to expand the range of opportunities available to youth and their families.

7. Comprehensive Treatment Planning: Tailor interventions to the complex and varied needs of youth and their families.

8. Developmentally Appropriate Services: Tailor treatment to the developmental needs of adolescents.

9. Gender-Appropriate Services: Design treatment to address the unique needs of each gender.

10. Cultural Competence: Create policies and procedures that are responsive to cultural differences and train personnel to be culturally competent.

11. Focus on Strengths: Maintain a focus on the strengths of youth and their families during program planning and in every interaction between the court and those it serves.

12. Family Engagement: Recognize and engage the family as a valued partner in all components of the program.

13. Educational Linkages: Coordinate with the school system to ensure that each participant enrolls in and attends an educational program that is appropriate to his or her needs.

14. Drug Testing: Design drug testing to be frequent, random, and observed. Document testing policies and procedures in writing.

15. Goal-Oriented Incentives and Sanctions: Respond to compliance and noncompliance with incentives and sanctions that are designed to reinforce or modify the behavior of youth and their families.

16. Confidentiality: Establish a confidentiality policy and procedures that guard the privacy of the youth while allowing the drug court team to access key information.

The monograph was prepared by the National Drug Court Institute and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. For the complete document please visit our website at www.ncjfcj.org.

Copyright 1999-2012, National Association of State Judicial Educators
Contact Web Developer