Community Courts

On March 5th, 2024, Center staff hosted a regional convening in collaboration with the Eugene Community Court. The agenda included a presentation by the Eugene Community Court, a session regarding Risk-Need-Responsivity theory and research, a Restorative Justice session by consultants from Collective Justice, a presentation by Red Hook Community Justice Center around community courts, housing, and holistic services, as well as a collaborative and interactive responsive interventions session. The attendees were able to observe court at Eugene Community Court the following day.

On February 8th, 2024, Center staff hosted a regional convening in collaboration with the Reno Community Court. The agenda included a Reno Community Court observation the day prior, a presentation by the Reno Community Court, a session regarding Risk-Need-Responsivity theory and research, a Restorative Justice session by Matthew Hartman (Director of Just Outcomes), a presentation by Midtown Community Justice Center on Pre-Arraignment Diversion in New York City, as well as a collaborative and interactive responsive interventions session.

The Center maintains a Court-Builders listserv that hosts over 580 active subscribers and shares examples of promising practices, lessons learned, and timely news among the community court field. The listserv continues to be a valuable tool for peer-to-peer communication. From January through June 2024, users made 36 original posts (with many more posts in response) that included new research on housing and criminal justice partnerships, information about creating court forms, questions about community service protocol, and other support around common issues.

The Center provides a wide range of support in response to requests for assistance, including sharing publications, research, planning guides, and other resources; and connects practitioners with peers at community courts around the country. This reporting period, the Center’s training and technical assistance team responded to at least five requests for assistance and assisted practitioners from a variety of locations.

Center Staff visited South Salt Lake to offer a half-day training and do a courthouse tour. Staff presented "Trauma-responsive Court Practices and Procedural Justice", which included about 35 city personnel. After the training, attendees and Center staff had a discussion around topics discussed during the presentation.

In this reporting period, Center staff accepted applications and selected six mentor court programs to support both current grantees and the community court field at large. The following sites were selected:
Boulder, CO
Austin, TX
South Dallas, TX
Spokane, WA

In conjunction with subject matter expert staff from the Center’s data analytics and applied research team, TTA staff presented an interactive webinar on Data Collection and Analysis during this reporting period. This webinar included a guided exploration of the Center’s publication called Building the Research Base: An Evaluation Blueprint for Community Courts, which details the conventional and unconventional data points that effective community courts should be tracking daily.

BCJC hosted the 5 members of the Bronx DA’s office to learn about justice initiatives, placemaking initiatives, and do a tour of the site

BCJC hosted Everytown for Gun Safety to receive an overview of justice initiatives, placemaking initiatives, community revitalization efforts and a site tour

BCJC welcomed Senator Scarcella Spanton to BCJC to receive an overview of BCJC and its programming, learn about the commercial revitalization program, and do a site tour