Winnebago Traditional Wellness Court

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 Ho Chunk Community Development Corporation (HCCDC) will enhance the capacity of the Winnebago Traditional Wellness Court to respond to underage drinking, alcohol-related issues, and delinquency of tribal youth offenders who are younger than 21 and have contact with the tribal juvenile justice system. The funding will be used to reach the following objectives: complete an inventory and gap analysis of the Court's policies, procedures assessment tools, data collection methods, and services concerning youth offender alcohol consumption and its related issues; conduct a strategic planning process; serve a minimum of 50 at-risk youth offenders under age 21 who have alcohol-related issues; and demonstrate a 33% reduction in the number of tribal youth repeat offenders for underage drinking and substance abuse related incidences. The project will be administered by the Winnebago Tribal Court working in partnership with the Winnebago Juvenile Justice Planning Team and HCCDC. Short formative evaluations for the project will be completed and used throughout the year to summarize data as it becomes available. CA/NCF