Enhancing Juvenile Drug Court Operations Through Training and Technical Assistance.

OJJDP's FY 2013 Juvenile Drug Courts Training and Technical Assistance Program seeks to build the capacity of state and local jurisdictions to implement best practices for drug court programs. The goal of the Juvenile Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Program is to build the capacity of states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to maintain, and enhance existing drug courts for substance-abusing juvenile offenders. The provider will deliver training and technical assistance (TTA) to juvenile drug courts about how to implement the 16 Strategies of Effective Juvenile Drug Courts (hereafter referred to as the Strategies) and other juvenile drug court best practices.
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) provides cutting-edge training, technical assistance, and research to support juvenile courts in their important work in order to improve outcomes for children, youth, families, victims, and communities. Since 1998, NCJFCJ has worked jointly with the Office of Justice Programs on the National Juvenile Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Project and trained more than 9,000 professionals to implement, enhance, operate, maintain, and expand their Juvenile Drug Courts (JDCs), and will therefore be able to leverage those resources and increase the cost-effectiveness of training and technical assistance for this project. The goals for the project are two-fold 1) to deliver assessment, training, technical assistance, and performance measurement to multidisciplinary JDC teams on evidence-based and developmentally appropriate services that will enhance, maintain, and expand program operation, improve team cohesiveness, increase adherence to program design based on the 16 Strategies, encourage program institutionalization, and support improved outcomes for youth and families and 2) to develop Standards of Practice for JDCs. The population to be served is non-violent, substance abusing juvenile offenders who have come to the attention of the juvenile justice system. Juvenile Drug Courts are not simply adult drug courts for a younger population, but must balance the best interest of the child with public safety and treatment of the juvenile offender. JDCs require a team approach involving the court, probation and social services and treatment providers. The NCJFCJ has substantial experience in supporting improved practice in delinquency courts and juvenile drug courts through robust curriculum development and implementation. Curriculum and training will be targeted to the developmental stage of JDCs, and training and technical assistance will be available through multiple modalities including office-based, site-based and online opportunities. An evaluation of current practice and national needs assessment will help guide development of training and technical assistance materials. A directory of training and technical assistance experts will be enhanced with additional contacts. Experienced JDCs will have the opportunity to participate in Learning Collaboratives to demonstrate model practice for other JDC sites. A process evaluation will help assess for changes in court practice associated with involvement in training or technical assistance. A Project Advisory Committee comprised of experienced JDC collaborators will provide oversight and direction for the project. NCJFCJ has developed a three-year timeline of project activities to measure progress towards the goals of this project.

CA/NCF