Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/21/2022
Size of the Grant: $600,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
The Community Courts Initiative supports efforts by state, local, and federally recognized American Indian tribal governments to establish and enhance community courts in their jurisdictions. Community courts are neighborhood-focused court programs that combine the power of the community and the justice system to address local problems. They connect persons committing less serious crimes — often misdemeanor cases — to judicially supervised substance use disorder treatment, alternative sanctions, and other community-based services.
Community courts are neighborhood-focused court programs that combine the power of the community and the justice system to address local problems. They connect persons committing less serious crimes — often misdemeanor cases — to judicially supervised drug treatment, alternative sanctions, and other community-based services. Community courts enhance public safety by addressing underlying issues that lead to criminal behavior, including substance use and behavioral health issues. By engaging communities in planning and operational processes, they provide justice system officials with more effective options in dealing with lower-level offenses, enhance public trust in the conduct of justice, and help to reduce unnecessary incarceration. The types of cases community courts accept vary depending on the communities that they serve. Courts in residential neighborhoods are more likely to address housing, environmental issues, and youth crime, whereas those in downtown areas prioritize issues such as homelessness and disorderly conduct.
Goals
The Community Courts Program supports efforts by state, local, and federally recognized American Indian tribal governments to establish and enhance community courts in their jurisdictions.
Objectives
- Establish or enhance court-based intervention programs to prioritize and expedite the provision of treatment and recovery services to individuals who are frequent users of justice, health, and other services who commit low-level misdemeanor offenses.
- Emphasize alternatives to incarceration by tailoring sentences to each defendant to improve community safety, enhance confidence in justice, and reduce recidivism.
- Build and maximize the capacity of jurisdictions to ensure that all participants are identified, assessed, and referred to services.
- Enhance the use of community services by participants in the community court docket, including case management, housing assistance, and service coordination.
- Developing and maintaining partnerships and collaborations with service providers to enhance the provision of treatment and recovery support services.
- Support the development, enhancement, and translation of research and knowledge of researcher-practitioner partnerships.
- Collect lessons learned and other examples of use to the field at-large from grantees and disseminate via publications, media platforms, and conference presentations.
Funding Information
- Planning and Implementation- $600,000.
- Enhancement – $600,000.
Grant Period
- Period of Performance Duration (Months) 48.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
