2024 Tribal Healing to Wellness Court
Implementation and Enhancement Training
Reclaiming Indigenous Justice
September 18-20, 2024
Sheraton Phoenix Downtown
340 North 3rd Street Phoenix, AZ 85004
This training has received U.S. Department of Justice Conference Approval.
2018 Training Materials
Albuquerque, NM
August 28-30, 2018
The Tribal Ten Key Components - National Drug Court Standards, Part I
Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Tribal Law Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
The Tribal Key Components form the foundation of all tribal drug courts. The Adult Drug Court Standards represent the latest research-based best practices for what works within the drug court setting. This workshop will overview both the Tribal Healing to Wellness Court key components and the national drug court Standards and discuss how they inter-relate. This workshop is designed to form the foundation of the Wellness Court model and highlight the best practices.
Materials: Sample MOU Tribal-State Case Transfer
Using Sports to Decrease Substance Use in Adolescents
Dr. Michelle Tom, Family Medicine Physician, Winslow Indian Health Care Center
Adolescents, ages 14-25, are neither children nor adults. The standard substance use treatment is designed not only for adults but envisions use over the course of years. This workshop will explore the unique needs to adolescents and their substance use. Then, the workshop will examine the effectiveness of sports as a useful mechanism to address these unique needs.
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Kristina Pacheco, Program Manager, Pueblo of Laguna Behavioral Health Services
Lori Vallejos, Counselor III, Pueblo of Laguna Behavioral Health Services
This workshop will explore the complexities of group dynamics amongst your participants, both within and outside of therapy sessions. A participant’s recovery journey is impacted not just by the make-up of the team, but also of their peers. Their dynamics are constantly changing. Yet, there are group cultures that tend to ebb and flow, which can be managed by helping to set the group culture and set group rules. This workshop will explore what the team can do to help guide the group, including fidelity to the Moral Reconation Treatment model and how it plays into Healing to Wellness Court, the importance of solidarity amongst team members, and the specific types of relationships that tend to develop within Wellness Court.
Special Needs of Veterans with Substance Use Disorders
Dr. Anthony Dekker, Physician, Northern Arizona Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System; Medical Director, East Community Based Outpatient Clinics
This presentation will overview substance use disorders generally, then overview the unique issues often faced by veterans, especially veterans aged 18-35. Attendees will learn about the complexities of chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and substance use in veterans. Attendees will learn the signs and symptoms of opioid use disorder. Finally, attendees will appreciate the use of medication-assisted therapy in opioid use in veterans.
Infusing the Healing to Wellness Court Model into the Dependency Court
Hon. Carrie Garrow, Chief Judge, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court
The statistics regarding child abuse and neglect demonstrate our families are still suffering and have difficulty functioning. Healing to Wellness Courts and Family Treatment Courts have been successful in helping families work towards recovery. This workshop will focus on importing the principles of Family Treatment Courts into all child welfare cases and use a team approach to assist families gain the skills needed to be successful.
Gookomis Endaad: A Different Way to Treat Addiction
Richard McCoy, Group Facilitator/Cultural Liaison, Gookomis Endaad
Mark Panasiewicz, Program Director, Healing to Wellness Counseling, LLC
Gookomis Endaad provides a therapeutic setting that incorporates clinical and traditional tribal healing practices to support the relatives in their holistic healing journey. Gookomis believes in incorporating the principles of Healing to Wellness court. This work shop will explore the positive results from blending Native American traditions with Western addiction and mental health treatment.
Accounting for Trauma in Your Court
Dr. Vivian Brown, Consultant, Integrated and Trauma-Informed Services
The majority of our populations in Treatment Courts have histories of trauma and violence. Failure to identify trauma at an early stage of court involvement, can lead to poor follow-through on court requirements and treatment plans, early dropout from treatment, increase in relapse events, and poor treatment outcomes. It is important for family treatment court staff to understand that the court experience can be confusing, intimidating, dis-empowering, and, possibly, re-traumatizing for individuals who have experienced trauma. Dr. Vivian Brown will discuss trauma and its impacts on both parents and children, how trauma can impact staff, the difference between trauma-specific interventions and trauma-informed practice, how Family Court Systems can become trauma-informed, and give an overview of a Trauma-Informed Walk-Through process and how it can help sites.
Preserving Our Culture: Realizing Restorative Justice in Tribal Wellness Courts
Hon. Allie Maldonado, Chief Judge, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Tribal Court
Hon. Jocelyn Fabry, Chief Judge, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal Court
A participant’s healing often includes re-integration into the community and re-integration with one’s self. Cultural resources can be used to ground the self, reconnect with lost custom, and develop spiritual and cultural meaning that may have been lost or disregarded. Incorporation of culture into Healing to Wellness Court programming can take a variety of forms, from including cultural activities into the sanctions and incentives, to having a Wellness Court tribal name, to embedding treatment phases with cultural significance. Incorporation of custom and tradition can be especially important for Native participants, who often stem from a different worldview than that offered in standard drug court settings. This workshop will explore this different worldview, and strategies for incorporating custom and tradition into both Tribal Healing to Wellness Court and into State Drug Court programs. This workshop will include a dialogue of cultural readiness for Wellness Court/Drug Court participants, as well as different examples from operational Wellness Courts.
The Healing to Wellness Partnership: The Treatment Provider and Healing to Wellness Court
Jeffrey Kushner, Montana Statewide Drug Court Administrator, Montana Supreme Court
Sean Bear, Co-Director, National American Indian and Alaska Native ATTC
This session will focus on the advantages for treatment providers when partnering with and providing services in the Healing to Wellness/drug court environment. The session will focus on the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards Volume I, Chapter V – Substance Abuse Treatment, and Volume II, Chapter VI – Complimentary Treatment and Social Services. The session will include a review of evidence-based drug court treatment practices for Healing to Wellness Courts to use in partnering with and monitoring their treatment providers. Part Two of the session will focus on cultural trauma as it relates to the Native American Healing to Wellness Court participants who, in addition to their substance use dependency, may also be experiencing problems from a legacy of chronic trauma and unresolved grief across generations enacted upon them by the European dominant culture. Clinicians need to be culturally competent, conventional counseling theories need to be adjusted, and traditional counseling theories should be integrated with elements of historical trauma and the Native American holistic view of the person.
Mark Panasiewicz, Program Director, Healing to Wellness Counseling, LLC
Many people don't understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting usually takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to. Fortunately, researchers know more than ever about how drugs affect the brain and have found treatments that can help people recover from drug addiction and lead productive lives. This workshop will explore that science, and how understanding addiction as a disease impacts the Wellness Court approach and operations.
Evaluation and Treatment for Adolescent Substance Use in Indian Country
Dr. Anthony Dekker, Physician, Northern Arizona Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System; Medical Director, East Community Based Outpatient Clinics
Adolescents, ages 14-25, are neither children nor adults. The standard substance use treatment is designed Anglo adults and may be inappropriate for Native adolescents in a variety of ways. This workshop will explore the special considerations for treating American Indian youth and their risk of substance use disorders. Attendees will learn to recognize opioid use in Native youth. Attendees will additionally learn about the use and considerations for medication-assisted therapies in treatment of Native youth with substance use disorders.
Hon. Carrie Garrow, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court
Hon. Charlene Jackson, Owner, Jackson Law Firm, PLLC
The Healing to Wellness Court is a unique collaboration that combats against the standard adversarial model. Nevertheless, key aspects of that model are preserved, including the roles of the prosecutor and defense counselor, albeit modified. This workshop will explore that tension—how are the roles similar and how do they differ? What ethical obligations must the advocate keep in mind, and how can the still preserve their duties to their office, to their client, but also to the Wellness Court collaborative process.
Honoring Their Story: Fairness and Accountability in the Tribal Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court
Anna Rangel Clough, Asst. Director, OJJDP Tribal Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center
Evan Elkin, Executive Director, Reclaiming Futures
The Tribal Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court is a justice process that seeks to balance the importance of holding youth accountable for their actions with the opportunity to support the youth and community in their path toward wellness. In that sense, the process is restorative and balanced in nature – not just targeting or blaming the youth – and engages a broad set of stakeholders surrounding the youth including the family, community members and the Tribal Wellness Court team itself in building an individualized case plan that everyone has a stake in. Critical to this process is the ability of the Wellness Court to implement an effective and engaging screening and assessment step so that the team can accurately understand the youth’s support and treatment needs and so the youth and other stakeholders can feel motivated and engaged from the earliest point in the process. The development of trauma-informed, strength-based and collaborative screening and assessment processes honors youth as they begin the journey toward wellness.
Technology in Drug Courts: How Technology Can Address Treatment, Supervision, and Training Goals
Precious Benally, Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange; Senior Associate, Treatment Court Programs, Center for Court Innovation
Adelle Fontanet, Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange; Senior Associate, Research Practice Strategies, Center for Court Innovation
In today’s tech-savvy world, computers, smartphones, and videoconferencing offer new opportunities for drug courts to serve clients and address staff training needs. The Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, is piloting technology initiatives with problem-solving courts in Idaho, Illinois, Montana, and West Virginia. These jurisdictions are using technology to increase capacity, address treatment barriers, supervise clients, and provide training for staff. The courts have found that treatment services, toxicology screening, compliance monitoring, court hearings, and staff training are all accessible remotely. Join staff from the Center for Court Innovation for a practical discussion about technology implementation and discover what technological advances are on the horizon for Healing to Wellness Courts and other problem-solving courts. Participants will learn about current technologies being used by problem-solving courts; understand specific strategies for using technology to enhance treatment delivery, client supervision, and staff training; and learn how to access online training resources for drug court professionals.
The Tribal Ten Key Components - National Drug Court Standards, Part II
Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Tribal Law Specialist, Tribal law and Policy Institute
The Tribal Key Components form the foundation of all tribal drug courts. The Adult Drug Court Standards represent the latest research-based best practices for what works within the drug court setting. This workshop will overview both the Tribal Healing to Wellness Court key components and the national drug court Standards and discuss how they inter-relate. This workshop is designed to form the foundation of the Wellness Court model and highlight the best practices.
Mark Panasiewicz, Program Director, Healing to Wellness Counseling, LLC
This presentation outlines the basic behavior modification principles and their applicability in incentives, sanctions and therapeutic adjustments. It identifies the importance of incentives, both formal and informal, and their application in the program. The presentation recognizes the effect of immediate consequences in modifying client behavior and identifies the distinctions between court-imposed sanctions and incentives and treatment responses. The presentation discusses the importance of formulating a strategy for the application of graduated sanctions and incentives and appropriate treatment responses, along the importance of the consistency in those responses.
Developing Your Tribal Laws to Support Your Healing to Wellness Court
Hon. Carrie Garrow, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court
Hon. Charlene Jackson, Owner, Jackson Law Firm, PLLC
Healing to Wellness Courts are innovative, non-adversarial forums, intended to shift the focus from judicial punishment to judicial rehabilitation. But the root of the Wellness Court remains in its connection to the judiciary. Program sustainability depends on building the Wellness Court as an essential component of that judiciary. This workshop will detail institutional structures that can help secure the Wellness Court. In addition, this Wellness Court will explore the tribal code context in which the Wellness Court operates that can help motivate or disincentive participation. Tribal communities must balance public safety against the need for restorative justice.
Capturing the Healing to Wellness Court Landscape
Dr. Julie Baldwin, Associate Director of Research, Justice Programs Office, American University
Zephi Francis, Research Specialist, Justice Programs Office, American University
This session will provide an overview of the life cycle of data collection, beginning with setting up an infrastructure for data collection to the ways data can be utilized by tribes to present their successes, look at needs and obtain future funding. Once the data is collected and managed by tribes, comprehensive look at all the Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts data can be collected and reported to back tribes.
Judicial Leadership in the Healing to Wellness Court
Hon. Carrie Garrow, Chief Judge, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court
As the Healing to Wellness Team Leader, the Judge is faced with numerous responsibilities. The Judge is required to actively participate with team members, participants, and also ensure the sustainability of the Wellness Court within the Judicial Branch. This workshop will focus on the responsibilities of the Judge and lead participants in a discussion on the cultural component of leadership.
Strengthening the Parent-Child Relationship in the Context of a Family Healing to Wellness Court
Brooke O’Byrne, Program Associate, Center for Children and Family Futures, Inc.
Russ Bermejo, Senior Program Associate, Center for Children and Family Futures, Inc.
With over 400 Family Treatment Courts (FTC) now in operation across the nation, FTC outcomes have shown significantly higher rates of parents’ participation in substance use disorder treatment, longer stays in treatment, higher rates of family reunification, less time for children in foster care, and decreased incidence of repeat maltreatment and return to out-of-home care compared to non-family treatment court participants (Rodi et al., 2015). FTCs are able to achieve these outcomes through several common practices or ingredients. This workshop will introduce the Big Seven – system of identifying families; timely access to assessment and treatment services; enhanced case management and recovery support; improved family services and focus on parent-child relationships; increased judicial oversight; contingency management; and collaborative approach and efficient information sharing. This presentation will provide an in-depth view and discussion around improved family services and focus on parent-child relationships. Facilitators will present examples of family treatment courts which have taken steps to address the parent-child relationship by improving access to and delivery of visitation, implementing evidence based parenting practices, and working collaboratively with community partners to ensure that their clients are accessing available services.
Case Management - The Road Map for Recovery
Mark Dyea, Senior Consultant, National Drug Court Institute
The objective of this presentation is to demonstrate the centrality of case management in drug court. This workshop will describe the role, functions, principles, knowledge, and skills of drug court case managers. It will encourage the critical review of existing drug court case management services. It will provide guidance in establishing data collection, information management, and evaluation practices for case management in a drug court setting, as described by the National Drug Court Institute in the Drug Court Case Management: Monograph Series 7. This presentation will focus on the development of Case Planning strategies as it relates to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to allow staff to create realistic, attainable, and effective case plans that foster the recovery process of our clients. Attendees will gain a basic understanding of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, tools required to identify and address client needs, and the importance of Case Management in the Drug Court setting.
Incorporating Culture and Community in Wellness Recovery: A Penobscot Perspective
Rhonda Decontie, Cultural Advisor/Clerk, Penobscot Nation Tribal Court
Hon. Eric Mehnert, Chief Judge, Penobscot Nation Tribal Court
Many addicts are ostracized and isolated by their communities because of the behaviors that come with their addiction. That isolation is a trigger for further self-medication deepening the cycle of addiction. This program explores the ways the Penobscot Nation Wellness Court has re-connected Wellness Participants with their culture and community. It is designed as an interactive discussion to encourage participants to discuss how they have, or how they might, integrate their community’s culture into Healing to Wellness Courts. The program will share the experiences the Penobscot Nation has had in integrating culture and community. It is designed for First Nations just starting a Wellness Court as well as those having an operating Wellness Court.
Family Matters - Transitioning Towards a Family-Centered Approach in All Healing to Wellness Courts
Brooke O’Byrne, Program Associate, Center for Children and Family Futures, Inc.
Russ Bermejo, Senior Program Associate, Center for Children and Family Futures, Inc.
All collaborative courts are family courts if their clients are part of a family system. Substance use disorders have a profound effect on all relationships in the family unit and recovery support must extend beyond the client to a more family-centered approach. This workshop will offer leaders and Wellness Court professionals working in any Wellness Court key strategies for implementing a family-focused approach. This presentation will make the case for why all Wellness Courts should pay greater attention to children and families and that cross-system collaboration and communication are critical for family safety and recovery. This session will draw from the findings of the recently published study by Center for Children and Family Futures and NADCP - Transitioning to a Family Centered Approach: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Three Adult Drug Courts. Presenters will share lessons from three drug courts that transitioned from a traditional adult drug court to one that expanded services to families and children. Additionally, presenters will engage the audience in discussion regarding the strategies that may be most applicable to tribal drug court settings and communities.
Reform and Responsibility for DWI Offenders
James Eberspacher, Division Director, National Center for DWI Courts
Too often in the justice system, instead of focusing on the individual, decisions are made solely based on their offense. With impaired driving, it’s logical to assume that the individual has an alcohol or drug problem, particularly if they are a repeat offender. But these may only be surface issues. Through the use of assessment instruments, practitioners can delve deeper and identify other risk factors or treatment needs. The assessment process allows practitioners to go beyond the more patent symptoms and instead develop a holistic picture of the impaired driver on their court docket, supervision caseload, or participating in their treatment program. This interactive workshop will provide the latest information on validated DUI assessment instruments including the Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS). Attendees will understand the vital role that these instruments can play in the criminal justice system in determining risk level while assisting practitioners in developing supervision and treatment plans that reflect criminogenic factors.
Problem-Solving Justice: Community Court Model for Tribal Justice Systems
Precious Benally, Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange; Senior Associate, Treatment Court Programs, Center for Court Innovation
Adelle Fontanet, Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange; Senior Associate, Research Practice Strategies, Center for Court Innovation
Problem-solving justice is an approach to justice that seeks to do more than just process cases. It deals with underlying problems that bring people to court by using alternative responses such as treatment and restorative justice practices. The emphasis for problem-solving justice is on collaboration with community and building on community strengths. Community courts embody problem-solving justice. Community courts are neighborhood-focused courts that attempt to harness the power of the justice system to address local problems, including drug possession, shoplifting, vandalism and assault. Core principles have evolved from community courts in the past decade that have made the community court approach to justice more effective and accepted in the communities in which they operate. Most, if not all, Native American communities have practiced these principles for generations in resolving their disputes. The core principles of community courts are community engagement, collaboration, better information sharing and individualized justice, accountability, and outcomes. In taking these principles further, community courts can learn from traditional tribal justice practices, such as integrating cultural practices into the justice system such as Peacemaking, valuing community and elder engagement, and emphasizing healing and wholeness instead of selecting winners and losers. By focusing on community court principles and utilizing the strength of tribal communities, tribal courts can implement meaningful, culturally relevant community courts in their communities. The examples of Aneth Community Court on the Navajo Nation and Colorado River Indian Tribes Community Court near Parker, Arizona will illustrate the planning and implementation process, challenges associated with the development process, and success stories to highlight that the community court model is reflective of tribal justice values.
Team Roles - Working Within Your Lane
Mark Dyea, Senior Consultant, National Drug Court Institute
This presentation will aid teams in the development of team member roles, responsibilities, and requirements. Drug Courts often struggle to identify and implement team member roles and responsibilities. This is particularly so in Indian Country, where individuals often have multiple roles on the team. The importance of having clearly defined roles will be emphasized for effective program operations. Each team member is the identified expert in their field and need to be relied upon to provide their expert opinion during staffing and status hearings. There will be additional emphasis placed on the importance of not only understanding one’s role on the team but operating within one’s identified role for effective program operations and participant success. This presentation will provide evidence of the benefits of having all team members actively participating in all aspects of the Drug Court.
Tribal Law Enforcement: An Important Part of the Healing to Wellness Court Team
Maria Galvan, Police Officer, Patrol Division, Pueblo of Laguna Law Enforcement Program
Drug Court researched has consistently shown that the presence and participation of law enforcement on the team can dramatically affect participant outcomes. However, how and why law enforcement should participate is frequently unclear. This workshop will over the importance of the police officer team member. The workshop will overview common roles and responsibilities, and how they should interact with the participant and with fellow team members. This workshop will also overview how the Wellness Court can more effectively engage law enforcement.
Resilience, Recovery, and Healing to Wellness
Hon. Lawrence King, Chief Judge, Colorado River Indian Tribes
This workshop will explore the differences between people in recovery and people not in recovery. Attendees will understand the concepts of risk factors, protective factors, and resiliency. Attendees will learn the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) new working definition of recovery, the four dimensions that support recovery, and the guiding principles of recovery. The workshop will include an update of neuroscience and addiction. Finally, we will discuss how we can affect patient recovery under the Healing to Wellness Model.
CTAS Grant Writing
Jessica Harjo, Operations Director, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Tribal Law Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
This workshop will explore the key components of a Department of Justice tribal funding grant application. The workshop will focus on the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), but will also touch on other Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and other federal grant writing tips.
Recognizing the Need for Risk Assessment Tools in Tribal Courts
Precious Benally, Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange; Senior Associate, Treatment Court Programs, Center for Court Innovation
Adelle Fontanet, Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange; Senior Associate, Research Practice Strategies, Center for Court Innovation
The use of technology and data-driven practices has grown remarkably in criminal justice systems across the country over the past few decades. Jurisdictions are relying more and more heavily on evidence-based practices, data-driven actuarial tools and technological developments in criminal justice management software to assist jurisdictions in the administration of justice. One such data-driven practice is the use of risk-need assessments to tailor treatment interventions to the individual’s level of risk and need. While there have been more than 60 risk tools developed in the United States, some utilizing data from over 300 jurisdictions, there are very few, if any, tools that have been developed and validated for use with Native American populations. There are currently no widely known or used risk and need assessment tools developed or adapted specifically for the Native American population and tribal justice practitioners have repeatedly requested instruments and technologies that are tailored to their populations to support their work. This presentation will walk through the tools currently utilized by tribes and what the limitations of those tools are. The audience will then hear about the Center for Court Innovation’s efforts to develop a risk-need tool for populations in New York City and how lessons learned in that process can be utilized and leveraged for the development of a tribally-appropriate and validated tool. The discussion will center around what factors must be considered in developing a tool tailored to Native communities, what are the challenges in validating an Indian Country-wide tool, and what the development process looks like for creating a risk-need assessment tool for use in Native communities.