Wellness Court Enhacement Training

2022 Training Materials

September 26-28, 2022

Why Use a Risk Assessment Tool (PowerPoint PDF)

Carolyn Hardin, Chief of Training and Research, National Association of Drug Court Professionals

Workshop Description: Healing to Wellness Courts is designed to provide an alternative justice system program. It is important for the programs to identify the risk and need levels of the individuals who enter the program. This workshop will help attendees understand why they should use a validated risk assessment instrument.

Coming Full Circle: Including Peer Graduates on Your Multi-Disciplinary Team (PowerPoint PDF)

Alyssa Harrold, Wellness Court Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Matthew Lesky, Attorney, Court Administrator, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Tribal Court
Kyle Winstone, Peer Graduate Mentor, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians
Kevin Gasco, Male Cultural Resource Advisor, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians

Workshop Description: Peer graduates can play an important role on your multi-disciplinary team. This session will discuss some of the do's and don’ts of selecting a peer graduate, what the role of the peer graduate is (or can be), how a peer graduate can be used to increase your clients’ community connections and how to utilize a peer graduate effectively to strengthen and improve your program.

Think About Recovery Management for the Long Term (PowerPoint PDF) (Handout)

Jeffrey N. Kushner, Statewide Drug Court Administrator, Montana Supreme Court

Workshop Description: The presentation will emphasize that support and services is necessary for a longer term than one’s time in a Healing to Wellness Court. Emphasis will be on types of support and mechanisms that will help support people discharged from healing to wellness courts for the long term, up to 3 years. Discussion will occur regarding setting up healing to wellness court participants at the beginning of their last phase in drug court so that they will have support and services by way of a recovery management plan (to include an assessment of their recovery capital) that will serve them long after they leave the healing to wellness court. Included will be an evidence-based mechanism to systematically follow-up with each participant by phone after discharge for up to 3 years. A Recovery Management Tool Kit will also be discussed.

Developing Collaborative Models of Linking Healing Court Participants to Legal Information and Services (PowerPoint PDF)

Elton Naswood, Program Coordinator, National American Indian Court Judges Association
Andrea Seielstad, Tribal Law Consultant, National American Indian Court Judges Association
Regina Begay-Roanhorse, Court Administrator, Navajo Nation Judicial Branch Judicial District of Alamo and Judicial District of To’Hajiilee

Workshop Description: Effective introduction of legal information and services about an array of non-criminal matters can be important components to Healing to Wellness and Veterans’ Treatment Courts. Veterans who find themselves intersecting with the criminal justice system and participation with healing programs will face a variety of legal issues beyond the matters that connected them to these courts, including but not limited to issues of domestic relations, guardianship and autonomy over decision-making, housing, and unemployment. A variety of collaborative models of providing legal services may be considered for these purposes.

This presentation will provide an overview of some of these different models and key issues to the design of an effective legal services model. Presenters will offer guidance about key ingredients to designing effective outreach and delivery service models: veteran-friendly location and accessibility; trauma- and culturally-informed legal outreach and interviews; event-planning around local conditions and activities, including subsistence activities; locally-led needs assessments and outreach, and other topics. The emphasis will be on consultative processes informed by veterans and tribal communities and ways of assessing available legal resources that may be engaged collaboratively, including legal services programs, pro bono programs within bar associations, law school clinical programs. The role of the social workers in the Veterans’ Administration, Indian Health Services or tribal health clinics as well as tribal programs accessed by veterans in the catchment of any healing court in connecting veterans to available legal services will be emphasized as well.

Community Court Responses to Treatment: Harm Reduction in Context (PowerPoint PDF)

Alejandra Garcia, Senior Program Manager, Treatment Courts Technical Assistance, Center for Court Innovation
Medina Henry, Director, Community Justice Initiatives, Center for Court Innovation
Sarah Blanco, Clinical Director, Midtown Community Court, Center for Court Innovation

Workshop Description: In this session, learners will hear about how community courts throughout the country respond to participant’s treatment needs through a harm reduction lens, especially for low-level cases in collaboration with criminal legal, treatment, and community stakeholders. Community court participants often present with a range of substance and mental health needs. Community courts cultivate resources through community partnerships, ongoing community engagement, and training needed to serve this population effectively. Harm reduction offers tools to work with this population in a meaningful way, by meeting clients where they are in their substance use or recovery. Focusing on creating safe relationships with participants, cultivating peer connections, and incorporating overdose prevention strategies can help courts foster stronger connections with their participants and reduce the harms they face through outreach, education, and treatment interventions. This presentation will highlight examples of how community courts have incorporated harm reduction to respond to participant treatment needs and community concerns and will discuss how these approaches could be used with healing to wellness court clients.

From Knowing to Sharing - Interpreting Data to Enhance Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court Program Services (PowerPoint PDF) (Handout)

Jacob Metoxen, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Dustin Pepion, Data Collection Specialist for the Blackfeet Juvenile/Adult Healing to Wellness, Blackfeet Tribal Court
Erin Thin Elk, Consultant, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Ethleen Iron Cloud-Two Dogs, Senior Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: As a shared value, our stories carry messages that teach, engage, and have served to pass knowledge through the generations. Data collection is not only a function of knowing, but also a process that allows us to share the story of the impacts of the Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court (JHWC). JHWCs can utilize wellness court data to express the effectiveness of the court’s services; to identify the approaches that bring about change; and to consider areas of growth. This workshop will discuss approaches to support the effective collection of data, discuss current trends in data collection, and explore ways that tribal court systems are more broadly utilizing data to maximize court communication and services. The panel will include individuals who have had the responsibility of collecting data and will share their experience of interpreting and presenting data to their teams and communities. The workshop will also discuss data privacy concerns, modern management practices (cloud-based), and team member responsibilities as they pertain to maintenance.

Coaching Your Clients on Their Road to Recovery; A Best Practice Approach for Probation Officers in Adult Healing to Wellness Programs (PowerPoint PDF)

Alyssa Harrold, Wellness Court Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts provide participants with the opportunity to participate in holistic services rather than being incarcerated. The 10 key components of healing to wellness courts and NADCP Best Practices Volume I and II provide the framework for policy and procedural development. Healing to Wellness Courts can promote judicial fairness and decrease any appearance of impropriety by having policy and procedure manuals that your probation officers adhere to and that follow best practices. Probation Officers have the unique opportunity in their role to help promote behavioral change and assist participants in skill development. This can be done by coaching participants on their journey as opposed to strictly enforcing rules. The benefit of utilizing a coaching model rather than an authoritarian approach is participants are changing the way they think and solve problems rather than complying to avoid punishment.

“Resilience and Preparation” by Natives for Military Service and Life After Discharge (PowerPoint PDF)

Sean Bear, Sean Bear, Co-Director, National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center
Raymond Daw, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Robert Begay, Advisory Council Member, National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center

Workshop Description: Tribal approaches to preparing for conflict, and life, traditionally begin during early childhood. This workshop will describe contemporary approaches to develop resilience and prepare young Natives for conflict and healing. Preparing to enter the Military can be challenging, if the individual and family do not know how to prepare or what to prepare for. Upon arriving on a base for basic or boot camp can be quite anxiety provoking and a culture shock. Preparing one’s body is a big part of this, but also preparing one’s mind is very important. This new module will give the young, as well as parents and other adults ways in which to prepare native warriors for the military and subsequent battle using life skills combined with Native cultural beliefs, practices, and knowledge which may better prepare them for life in the military and return to civilian life.

Empowering Women: A Model for Gender-Specific Healing to Wellness Courts (PowerPoint PDF)

Hon. Stacie Fourstar, Chief Judge, Fort Peck Tribal Court
Hon. Mary Kate Huffman, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, R.I.S.E. Court Judge

Workshop Description: Healing to Wellness Courts incorporate and adapt the drug court model to each tribe’s custom and tradition, as well as the individual tribal sovereigns’ visions respecting, honoring and addressing the specific needs of their members. Healing to Wellness Courts should acknowledge the honored role women play in Native culture, including the matrilineal structure of many (but certainly not all) societies, by developing separate tracts for females, recognizing that the predictors for and progression of drug abuse and dependence are primarily gender-sensitive. A woman-focused Healing to Wellness Court provides an opportunity to acknowledge that women in the criminal justice system bear gender-specific needs, responsibilities and concerns, while addressing the pervasive victimization and violence experienced by many women affected by substance use disorders, historical grief and trauma, and the pervasive and dangerous reality of missing and murdered indigenous women. This program will begin with a discussion of the gender-based predictors of and patterns and pathways into substance abuse and the criminal justice system for women. The faculty will review the recent research on the effectiveness of gender-specific specialized dockets. The program will address the specific treatment, trauma, relationship, familial responsibility, mental health, and economic circumstances of women that must be appropriately addressed during Healing to Wellness Court involvement. The faculty will then discuss the processes, personnel, and programs necessary to build a successful gender-specific Healing to Wellness Court, while embracing the customs and traditions of the individual Tribal sovereign.

How Courts Can Create Trauma-Informed Spaces That Promote Accessibility and Inclusivity for All Families (PowerPoint PDF)

Meghan Fitzgerald, PhD, Family Treatment Court Training Coordinator, Washington Administration Office of the Courts
Laura Vogel, Child Welfare Training and Court Improvement Specialist, Washing Administrative Office of the Courts

Workshop Description: By now, we have all been through a trauma – responsive or trauma-informed training at some point in our work with the court. We might know the basics of what causes trauma, symptoms, and how to empathize with folks who are responding to trauma in our courts. But is that enough? Let’s move from theory to practice and change our spaces to include all people before they even enter the courtroom (physically or virtually!). This workshop is designed to give examples of changes we can make to provide a more inclusive court for people of all abilities and experiences (a practice called universal design), and then begin the work your own materials. Come prepared to discuss accessibility and trauma, bring a laptop (preferably with Microsoft Office and Zoom products access) to learn the basics of the tools you already have, and practice grounding techniques with your peers so that you can help keep yourself and others in a space for learning and growth. At the end of this workshop participants will: be able to describe the relationship between trauma-informed and universal design principles in court spaces and identify tools and begin to utilize them to build accessible virtual and physical spaces.

Cultural Collaboration in Justice Planning (PowerPoint PDF)

Lydia Locklear, Deputy Tribal Administrator, Catawba Nation
Meredith Jolin, Director of Justice Services, Catawba Nation

Workshop Description: Culture is the cornerstone of any successful tribal justice program, but it’s sometimes treated as supplemental rather than essential. In 2019, the Catawba Nation received a grant under CTAS purpose area 2 to create a justice strategic plan, which it completed in 2021. The Tribe sought to include cultural practices at every step of the process, which helped them make cultural integration a top priority for all justice programs. This workshop will help attendees to identify areas to integrate culture at all steps of the planning process, from identifying traditional values at step one, to incorporating feedback from community stakeholders in existing programs. Using lessons learned from the Catawba Nation 2019-2021 justice strategic planning process, the presenters will address the following topics: 1. Identifying cultural stakeholders 2. Incorporating language and tradition into logic models, values, and mission statements 3. Including traditional practices in the needs assessment 4. Interpreting data to support cultural programming 5. Working with partners to execute unique cultural programs for courts 6. Meeting the needs of culturally reconnecting participants 7. Using data from participant involvement with cultural programs to sustain a program.

Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Veterans Symposium and Roundtable Pt. 1 (PowerPoint PDF) (Handout)

Jordan Martinson, Tribal Law and Policy Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Kristine Huskey, Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Veterans' Advocacy Law Clinic, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona

Workshop Description: The fusion of Tribal Healing to Wellness Court best practices with Evidence-Based Veterans Treatment Court principles is an emerging opportunity in the Wellness Court field. While many tribes currently utilize multiple strategies to provide services to veterans with SUD, limited information exists in terms of justice involved tribal veteran populations. This symposium will bring together Healing to Wellness Court, Treatment and Tribal Veteran experts to discuss the following: What is the need for Veterans Treatment Courts from tribe to tribe? How can tribal courts better identify and serve the needs of veteran participants? What opportunities exist for collaboration between the complex web of tribal, federal, and state entities to best meet these needs. Symposium attendees will discuss these issues in an open format. The symposium will feature special topics including a recent paper authored by Professor Kristine Huskey (Arizona James E College of Law) titled, “The Case for Tribal Veterans Healing to Wellness Courts.” Materials, findings, and next steps will be collected and distributed in the form of a post conference written resource.

Tribal Court Risk Need Resilience and Responsivity Tool (PowerPoint PDF)

Adelle Fontanet-Torres, Director, Tribal Justice Exchange, Center for Court Innovation

Workshop Description: The Center, in collaboration with staff from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has developed a tribal specific risk-need responsivity (RNR) tool for use with tribal courts. This tribal RNR tool has been designed with the unique characteristics of tribal court populations in mind and focuses on highlighting individual resilience, as well as identifying needs and opportunities for engagement with services. The Center is now in the process of working with three tribal courts to pilot the tool and collect relevant to finalize it. This presentation will discuss the design of the tool and will walk through the types of information the tool will be collecting. This presentation will also explain how the tool is unique in addressing the needs of tribal populations and will highlight how the information gathered can be used to support individuals through case management. Presenters will also discuss the research design for piloting and testing the tool in the field. The audience will learn about the next steps of the piloting process and the presenter will explain what information still needs to be gathered to finalize the tool before it can be made widely available to tribes.

A System Approach – Instilling Hope through Connection and Resiliency (PowerPoint PDF)

Veronica Willeto DeCrane, Training and Technical Assistance Manager, National Native Children’s Trauma Center
Ethleen Iron Cloud-Two Dogs, Senior Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: The Tribal Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court is a holistic and therapeutic environment that supports youth resiliency, connection to community and culture, and ultimately a strong path to recovery. By utilizing a system-based approach, communities can engage a “wrap-around” process to support JHWC participants, increasing protective factors that promote youth resiliency. This session will include information regarding a trauma informed approach and the value of systems that support youth voice, community partnerships and kinship engagement to provide services for youth and their families that are strengths-based, needs-driven, and stable, and that meaningfully connect them to community and culture.

Applying Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards: Practice Applications for Family Healing to Wellness Courts (PowerPoint PDF)

Will Blakeley, Program Associate, Children and Family Futures
Ashay Shah, Senior Associate, Children and Family Futures

Workshop Description: The Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards (FTC BPS) offer more than 25 years of practice experience and scholarly research outlining the elements required to establish, enhance, and sustain an effective family treatment court. Trauma-responsive, culturally relevant practice is woven throughout the eight Standards. Family Healing to Wellness Courts (FHWC) can apply FTC BPS practices and tools to improve outcomes for children, parents, and families in the child welfare system and affected by parental substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders. This session will provide an overview of the FTC BPS and highlight key strategies, and key considerations, on how FHWC can use the FTC BPS to help families break generational cycles of substance use, and child abuse and neglect — thereby promoting healthy, stable home environments and communities where children and families can thrive. Attendees will leave this session with concrete next steps to align their FWHC with the FTC BPS to improve outcomes for children and families.

Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Veterans Symposium and Roundtable Pt. 2 (PowerPoint PDF)

Elton Naswood, Program Coordinator, National American Indian Court Judges Association
Andrea Seielstad, Tribal Law Consultant, National American Indian Court Judges Association
National American Indian Court Judges Association Staff and Consultants

Workshop Description: Part II of the Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Veterans Symposium will be hosted by the Native American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA). During this session NAICJA staff and consultants will provide an overview of the Veteran’s Legal Clinic Pilot Project. Additional discussion items will include Comparing Models for Legal Representation, Models and Approaches, and Veterans Project Design considerations.

Formalizing the Wellness Court into Written Tribal Law (PowerPoint PDF) (Handout)

Lauren van Schilfgaarde, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Legal Development Clinic Director, UCLA Research Fellow, UCLA School of Law

Workshop Description: Particularly due to its grassroots nature, the Wellness Court tends to develop organically, operating far before the formalities of written descriptions. But at some point, a Wellness Court may benefit from a formalized inauguration into written tribal law, which can serve to ensure the Wellness Court will continue to exist, operate, and benefit future community members long after its founding members have retired. This presentation will highlight an upcoming Tribal Law and Policy Institute resource regarding the codification of the Wellness Court into tribal law. The presentation seeks to explore the ways in which tribes have gone about codification. As expected, there is great diversity. The advantages and disadvantages of a particular approach are far too dependent on the context of a tribal community and their governmental organization. Instead, this presentation seeks to highlight a spectrum of options and considerations for tribes to weigh in their own legislative processes.

Tribal Court Software: Managing Cases with Technology (PowerPoint PDF)

Melanie P. Fritzsche, Senior Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange, Center for Court Innovation
Adelle Fontanet-Torres, Director, Tribal Justice Exchange, Center for Court Innovation

Workshop Description: Tribal justice system practitioners are often looking for support in managing cases, sharing information about client compliance, coordinating referrals, and streamlining client communications. This is particularly true for HTWC practitioners who need to share information and collaborate with numerous agencies and partners. Yet, tribal courts often lament the lack of affordable and usable technology options. The Center for Court Innovation has been working to gather information from some of the most popular tribal court technology platforms to generate comparisons for HTWC practitioners to consider. During this presentation Center staff will explain important information to consider in prioritizing your court’s needs when deciding on what technology platforms to choose. This presentation will also provide examples from different software companies and will highlight items to consider when choosing the right platforms for your court.

Culture Is Our Best Protective Factor and Healing Practice (PowerPoint PDF)

Janelle Chapin, Technical Assistance Manager, Alaska Native Women’s Resource
Tiana Teter, Program Specialist, Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center

Workshop Description: Presenters will explore how our Black, Indigenous, People of Color cultures and support networks have natural protective factors for trauma and provide resiliency skills. Each BIPOC group’s faces trauma that is systemic, ongoing and each generation faces a different set of challenges based on the social issues of the times. The presenters will look at how groups are using their cultural values to move forward today to heal and adopt to new traumas. Many of our cultures have cues built in that are designed to connect us to each other and the natural world around us. We are taught from a young age to use them in everyday life both for safety and learning new skills. Our cultures are visual and use many cues making us comfortable with extended periods of silence when learning and in everyday life. As a result of learning by observation we are taught not to question systems and this lead us not to question initially the introduction of systems that harmed us. As our cultures teach us resiliency we are learning to speak out and heal from those traumas. We need to change our perspective from intergenerational trauma to intergenerational resiliency. We need to change our perspective from intergenerational trauma to intergenerational resiliency. We need to understand for many Each BIPOC groups faces trauma that is systemic, ongoing and each generation faces a different set of challenges based on the social issues of the times. For example, COVID has impacted long term complex grief because we are not able to follow traditions. The traditions have healing and grief build into to each step.

Transition to Civilian Life / Veteran Family Focus (PowerPoint PDF)

Sean Bear, Sean Bear, Co-Director, National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center
Raymond Daw, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
David Natseway, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: The transition to civilian life provides a multi-layered challenge to not only the tribal veteran, but their families as well. A key aspect in the transition process is to explore resources that will guide families through this significant life change. This workshop will discuss behavioral challenges that may arise leading to involvement in Veterans/Civilian court. Speakers will provide real-world examples of the challenges families encounter during transition, and resources to help build strength and resilience.

Lessons Learned from Opioid Courts: Responses for Tribal and Rural Areas (PowerPoint PDF)

Alejandra Garcia, Senior Program Manager, Treatment Courts Technical Assistance, Center for Court Innovation
Melanie P. Fritzsche, Senior Program Manager, Tribal Justice Exchange, Center for Court Innovation

Workshop Description: The opioid epidemic has brought another substance use challenge to treatment courts throughout the country. Opioid intervention courts emerged as the latest innovation in the treatment court field to rapidly link participants at risk for overdose to evidence-based treatment, intensive case management, and frequent supervision. Though these approaches are being integrated in some state courts, tribal justice systems face unique obstacles in addressing the opioid epidemic that have made responding to this crisis even more challenging. Additionally, Native Americans are disproportionately affected by high addiction and overdose rates, which creates greater urgency to develop tribal specific responses to this epidemic. Center for Court Innovation staff will discuss how the opioid epidemic has impacted tribal nations and will share examples of how tribes are responding with culturally relevant opportunities and services to meet the needs of their communities. Additionally, Center staff will discuss themes and lessons learned from opioid courts in New York that could be integrated in Healing to Wellness Courts to help address the opioid epidemic.

Reaching Toward Recovery: Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court Panel Discussion (PowerPoint PDF)

Anna Clough, Director, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Chaniel Grant, Juvenile/Adult Healing to Wellness Court Coordinator, Blackfeet Tribal Court
David McArthur, White Earth Wellness Courts
Jacob Metoxen, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: The development of the Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court involves collaboration, partnerships, and the identification of services to support tribal youth participants. This session will include a dialogue with current Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court coordinators and team members to discuss case management and court development strategies from intake to final graduation. The discussion will also include Tribal Youth Resource Center Peer Mentor considerations in lessons learned during the development of their respective Tribal Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts.

Due Process and Other Legal Issues in Healing to Wellness Courts (PowerPoint PDF)

Aaron Arnold, Chief Development Officer, The National Association of Drug Court Professionals

Workshop Description: Healing to Wellness Courts have become a central feature of many tribal justice systems, as they offer an effective, evidence-based approach for addressing the underlying challenges—like substance use disorders and mental health issues—that often drive people into the justice system. Research shows that these courts save lives, reduce reoffending, and strengthen families and communities.

Veterans' Outreach and Legal Assistance in Rural and Geographically Vast and Diverse Areas (PowerPoint PDF)

Elton Naswood, Program Coordinator, National American Indian Court Judges Association
Andrea Seielstad, Tribal Law Consultant, National American Indian Court Judges Association
Raymond Daw, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: This presentation will focus on the issue of providing legal education, advice, and representation in rural and geographically vast areas where there may not be an abundance of lawyers specialized in handling issues of veterans’ benefits law or other basic legal services. Legal services programs can be situated to represent large catchment areas but are not always funded and adept at staffing them in the ways most accessible to Native American and Alaska Native veterans. In-person meetings and clinics may be particularly difficult. Drawing from experiences with veterans’ outreach and grassroots veterans’ organizations in Alaska, New Mexico, and Michigan, among others, as well as expertise from lawyers who have provided legal services in different contexts, this panel will discuss three collaborative models. 1. A specific veterans’ clinic scheduled on a particular time and day wherein pro bono attorneys commit time to interview, evaluate and potentially provide legal assistance to veterans’ legal issues. 2. An attorney mentorship program in which members of the private bar may be called upon to share their expertise in assisting legal services, attorneys in particular legal matters encountered in their client representation, and 3. An online community education program where pro bono attorneys offer tailored programs on issues of concern to particular communities and statewide, including in the area of veterans’ benefits. Presenters will present the ideas behind these models, including the planning and funding needs, and insights on technology and services delivery in and after a time of COVID. As well as, how the models benefited and could be tailored to specific tribal communities as well as urban ones; assessment and recruiting for particular substantive areas of law; the importance of identifying attorneys certified to handle veterans’ benefits work; and specific observations about extending pro bono legal services statewide in culturally appropriate ways.

Using Your Own Data to Improve Outcomes: Tips, Tricks and Tools (PowerPoint PDF) (Handout) (Handout 2)

Lyndsey Smith, Researcher and Data Analyst, NPC Research
Laura Hunter, Research Associate, NPC Research

Workshop Description: Are you monitoring your own data to evaluate your treatment court? If not, are you unsure of where or how to start? What will you gain from evaluation and monitoring? In this session, we will describe procedures to use your treatment court data to evaluate and measure progress, which in turn will help you improve your program. Key data and information needed to conduct different types of evaluation will be outlined. A new data dashboard available to BJA grantees to monitor program outcomes will also be demonstrated. Treatment courts will leave the presentation able to monitor and evaluate their own data to promote program improvements.

A Family-Centered Approach in All Healing to Wellness Courts: Enhancing Service Delivery and Improving Outcomes While Integrating Family Voice (PowerPoint PDF)

Will Blakeley, Program Associate, Children and Family Futures
Ashay Shah, Senior Associate, Children and Family Futures

Workshop Description: Substance use disorders and trauma affect the entire family. Parents and children live within the context of a larger family system, community and culture. A family-centered approach is key to effective treatment, sustained recovery, and family well-being that includes a comprehensive array of clinical treatment and related support services that meet the needs of each family member, not only the individual requesting care. This session will highlight the essential ingredients of a family-centered approach and cover practical strategies, challenges, and successes from experts in the field. Presenters will share how community outreach and engagement, priority setting, evaluation, and funding are necessary to ensure the implementation and sustainability of a family-centered approach. Presenters will provide concrete strategies that improve family engagement and integration of family voice and culturally specific activities in collaborative case planning that meet the unique and complex needs of families affected by substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders.

Role of Defense Counsel in Healing to Wellness Courts (PowerPoint PDF)

Alexandra Rawlings, Directing Attorney – Farmworker and Indian Law Projects, Nevada Legal Services

Workshop Description: This presentation will discuss best practices for defense counsel in Healing to Wellness Courts and highlight some of the legal, ethical, and practical challenges that arise within the Wellness court context. The audience will learn about differences between the role of defense counsel in Wellness court and the role of defense counsel in an adversarial criminal court. The presentation will provide an overview of the ethical and professional obligations of defense counsel and guidance on how to adapt “zealous advocacy” to the programmatic purpose of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The presentation will emphasize defense counsel’s unique role on the Wellness court team as both team member and client advocate, and provide insight into this role for all those designing, studying, and practicing in Wellness courts.

Wellness Court Program Evaluation: Using Your Program’s Data to Improve Operations and Outcomes (PowerPoint PDF)

Lina Villegas, Research Associate, Center for Court Innovation
Precious Benally, Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: Do you want to make improvements in your Wellness Court but are not sure where to start? Have you considered bringing in an evaluator to conduct an evaluation on your program but may not have the funding to do so? This workshop will provide guidance on how to identify the conditions favorable for an evaluation, different options to conduct an evaluation, and how to utilize the information you gather along the evaluation process. You will hear from an experienced justice systems researcher on how to develop the internal capacity for an inside evaluation. Lina Villegas, a senior research associate with the Center for Court Innovation, is currently conducting two treatment court evaluations: Therapeutic Justice program in Mexico and St. Regis Mohawk Healing to Wellness Court. She will share her experience working on both projects detailing the process and how the information gathered will then be used by the program themselves.

Restorative Justice Theory

Lauren van Schilfgaarde, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Legal Development Clinic Director, UCLA Research Fellow, UCLA School of Law

Workshop Description: The Wellness Court model is an Indigenous version of the drug court model. But Wellness Courts are also part of the restorative justice movement. They are a re-conception of the adversarial process. They are a counter to the punitive system. They are a decolonized theory of criminal justice. Yet in other ways, Wellness Courts are a re-Indigenized process, not necessarily dependent on operating as a “response” to the adversarial system, so much as they are a revitalized version of traditional practices. This workshop will seek to explore the ways in which these legal theories interact and impact the ways in which Wellness Courts operate, and how in the much more likely framework—tribes are leading a theory transformation with meaningful impacts for both tribal sovereignty and restorative justice.

What is Contributing to the Effective Operation of Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts? (PowerPoint PDF)

Anna Clough, Director, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Jacob Metoxen, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Kimberly Martus, Supervisor, Alaska Tribal Justice Resource Center

Workshop Description: Our deeply held values contribute to our community and the development of youth-serving programs. As courts full implementation and enhancement, the value of existing relationships, collaboration, and contribution to the program can become more apparent. In this session, presenters will explore not only the components that contribute to the framework of the Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court, but will consider the values and principles that contribute to the development of an effective Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court. The session will provide a cross-comparison of programs, drawing out the activities and steps that were taken to achieve operational status, while also considering the various challenges and barriers that can inhibit court operations.

Making Data Work For You (PowerPoint PDF) (Handout)

Dr. Christina Lanier, Co-Director, National Drug Court Resource Center
Dr. Kristen DeVall, Co-Director, National Drug Court Resource Center

Workshop Description: Ever wanted to use the data you collect regarding tribal healing to wellness court participants to answer questions? This session will provide you with a framework for increasing your program’s capacity to collect and utilize program data. Specifically, we will discuss what types of data should be collected, how to collect the data, and the best practices for sharing the data with the team and stakeholders.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Consideration for Adoption in Veteran Treatment Courts (PowerPoint PDF)

Scott Tirrocchi, Division Director, Justice for Vets, National Association of Drug Court Professionals

Workshop Description: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based therapy that was created for persons that were diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder. However, in recent years it has been adapted to treat persons with other behavioral health disorders; to include impulsivity, depression, anxiety, substance dependency/ misuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder. This plenary will share current research on the efficacy of DBT, reviews its foundational principles, and discusses ways of adapting the treatment to justice-involved service members with clinical needs. At the end of this session, the participant will be able to:

Recount current research that reviews the efficacy of DBT with the veteran population.
Describe the essential skills training modules of DBT.
Review a 16-week curriculum that can be effectively used for your participants.

The Henu Community Wellness Court (PowerPoint PDF)

Evelyn Dolchock, Chief Judge, Kenaitze Indian Tribe

Workshop Description: Henu Community Wellness Court is a joint-jurisdictional therapeutic court operated by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and Alaska Court system. The court serves adults who face legal trouble stemming from substance use, focusing on drug and alcohol offenders- including those in families with Children in Need of Aid. The court aims to get to the root of substance use issues, offering participants resources to pursue sobriety rather than sending them directly to jail. This session will include dialogue about a joint tribal and state court and their utilization of circle as a part of the overall wellness court process.

American Probation and Parole Association Tribal Services Availability (PowerPoint PDF)

Mark Dyea, Tribal Grants Manager, American Probation and Parole Association

Workshop Description: This presentation will highlight the services available through the American Probation and Parole Association. These services are designed to assist Tribal Probation and Tribal Courts in developing the needed services and enhancing existing services that can improve Healing to Wellness Court outcomes. This presentation will discuss the Tribal Reentry Toolkit, the Tribal Justice Probation System Review Guidebook, and Risk-Needs Responsivity. This presentation will also discuss additional services available through APPA including Training and Technical Assistance for Tribal programs in community supervision, alternative to incarceration, and providing access to Evidence – Based Practices as well as Practice – Based Evidence resources, Tribal Reentry, National and Regional Training Institutes.

Veterans Panel - Special Considerations to address the Needs of Native American Veterans

Jordan Martinson, Tribal Law and Policy Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Regina Begay-Roanhorse, Court Administrator, Navajo Nation Judicial Branch Judicial District of Alamo and Judicial District of To’Hajiilee
Sean Bear, Sean Bear, Co-Director, National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center
Raymond Daw, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
David Natseway, Consultant, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Robert Begay, Advisory Council Member, National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center

Workshop Description: Veterans Treatment Courts use a hybrid integration of Drug Court and Mental Health Court principles to serve military veterans. They promote sobriety, recovery, and stability. Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts are uniquely positioned to assist veteran participants with re-integration into the community through inclusion of traditional and cultural programming. This panel will include the perspectives of Native American veterans and treatment experts on issues critical to meeting the needs of this population including cultural, clinical, & procedural considerations. Panel members will be available to take questions from attendees in an open, discussion based format.

Planning and Enhancing Healing to Wellness Courts – Key Program Implementation Considerations for Sustained Success (PowerPoint PDF)

Jordan Martinson, Tribal Law and Policy Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Precious Benally, Tribal Wellness Court Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Alyssa Harrold, Wellness Court Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Catherine Retana, Tribal Law Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: Have you made your way through the planning phase of your program and are beginning implementation of your Wellness Court? Have you implemented your Wellness Court but still have questions about certain aspects of the model? Are you wondering what you can do to enhance your program after operating for a few years? This two part workshop is for you! Tribal Law and Policy Technical Assistance staff will help guide you through key program implementation considerations and provide specific strategies to enhance your Wellness Court. Specific topics of discussion will include target population identification, the interaction between eligibility determinations and risk need assessments, legal process considerations, points of entry and referral sources, phase development, and treatment plan development.

The aim of this workshop is to engage these issues as thoroughly as possible while also recognizing the importance of peer-to-peer learning, therefore, a significant portion of the workshop will be devoted to answering questions from the attendees as well as facilitating discussion between attendees and encouraging the sharing of ideas between Wellness Court practitioners that have experienced and overcome similar issues and challenges.

Open Discussion Session: Practical Issues in Juvenile & Family Healing to Wellness Courts

Anna Clough, Director, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Jacob Metoxen, Training and Technical Assistance Specialist, Tribal Youth Resource Center, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Kristina Pacheco, Tribal Wellness Specialist, Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Workshop Description: This session will be an opportunity for those who are currently implementing or planning to implement a JHTWC/FHTWC to discuss practical issues. Topics will include recruitment, family involvement, programming, as well as other subject-matter. Please join us to learn from one another.

Transgender Cultural Fluency (PowerPoint PDF)

Stacy Fatemi (they/them), Education & Outreach Program Manager, Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico

Workshop Description: Transgender people today are more visible and represented throughout our communities than ever. As such, organizations and individuals are finding the need to increase their knowledge and understanding of issues that affect their transgender colleagues, employees, friends, and family members. Despite gains in visibility and acceptance, transgender people continue to face enormous challenges in everyday life—from poverty, unemployment, lack of access to health care and secure housing, to horrific violence and discrimination. The Transgender Cultural Fluency Training lays the foundation for participants to gain a better understanding of what it means to be transgender, clarify common misconceptions about transgender people, become familiar with the challenges transgender communities face, and learn ways to be a strong and engaged advocate for transgender people.

Suicide Prevention and Awareness: What Every Veterans Treatment Court team member needs to know and do! (PowerPoint PDF)

Scott Tirrocchi, Division Director, Justice for Vets, National Association of Drug Court Professionals

Workshop Description: Suicide Prevention is everyone's responsibility. This session examines the warning clues, direct and indirect symptoms, and other areas of concern that are potential risk factors for suicide. Most importantly, this session provides the Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) team member with the ability to identify steps and take actions that can prevent suicide regardless of role. At the end of this session, the participant will be able to describe and refute common myths and assumptions as they relate to suicide awareness and prevention, describe the warning signs/clues and identify direct and indirect symptoms for suicide risk, describe protective factors that you can leverage with participants to prevent suicide and appraise your skills concerning suicide prevention and tailor your training/educational response to enhance personal, professional development.