White Earth Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court Expansion Project

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) envisions a nation and tribal nations where our children are healthy, educated, and free from violence. If they come into contact with the family and juvenile justice system, the contact should be rare, fair and beneficial to them. To meet this vision, tribal juvenile, juvenile and family, or family Healing to Wellness Courts (referred to as Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts) provide comprehensive, developmentally appropriate, community-based, and culturally appropriate services for youth who come in contact with the tribal juvenile justice system due to alcohol or other drug use. This program supports efforts of such courts to develop or enhance their capacity to address issues related to youth younger than 21 years old who possess and consume alcohol.

The White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians will improve the outcomes for at-risk and high-risk tribal youth ages 13-21 involved in negative outcomes related to underage drinking, including juvenile delinquency and injury or fatality due to alcohol-related impaired driving. White Earth proposes to expand the Tribal Court's Juvenile Healing to Wellness (JHW) Court by hiring a full-time case manager to be devoted to working with JHW participants. The specific objectives of this project include: 1) provide comprehensive, developmentally appropriate, community-based, and culturally appropriate services for a minimum of 30 youth involved with tribal/county juvenile justice systems due to alcohol and/or other drug use; 2) Increase the number of activities to deter underage drinking along with increasing the number of youth who participate in activities to deter underage drinking; 3) Decrease the number of crimes against persons or property which involve youth age 21 and younger where alcohol consumption has been a factor; and 4) Enhance collaboratives and partnerships in order maximize resources to address the needs of tribal youth with substance abuse issues.
Existing partnerships include the Tribal Court, Mahnomen, Becker and Clearwater County Courts and the Minnesota Department of Corrections along with a number of tribal and county programs/agencies that provide treatment and their support services for youth. CA/NCF