Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts

The Justice Department's grant-making components have created a streamlined approach for federally recognized Tribes, Tribal consortia, Alaska Native villages and corporations, as well as authorized tribal designees to apply for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 funding opportunities. The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) serves as a single solicitation for existing tribal government-specific grant programs administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The CTAS solicitation is designed to assist tribes with addressing crime and public safety issues in a comprehensive manner. The CTAS grant-application process was inspired by and developed after consultation with tribal leaders, including sessions at the Justice Department's Tribal Nations Listening Session in 2009, and has been updated based on continued tribal consultations and listening sessions. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides awards under CTAS Purpose Area 8--Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts. The overall goal of this program is to enhance the capacity of tribal courts to respond to the alcohol-related issues of youth under the age of 21. This can include the development of a new juvenile healing to wellness court or enhancements to an existing tribal healing to wellness court.

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ (SBT) Juvenile Justice System is a court-managed treatment program designed to provide a cost-effective alternative to criminal case processing. The pilot program started in spring of 2014. They enlisted 14 juveniles into the program and the community found it very beneficial. The program is based on the youth’s needs and individualized treatment plan. There are four phases of the program. The phases outline goals youth must achieve prior to advancing to the next phase. Completion of each phase is based on performance. The Juvenile Drug Court Judge will phase the youth according to their individual progress and recommendations from the Drug Court Team. The Drug Court Team will provide data, monitoring, suggestions for the parents, and tracking of the youth's achievement through the program. The program is based on the youth’s needs and individualized treatment plan, allowing the team to address substance abuse and any other problems the youth and/or his family are experiencing. The Juvenile Drug Court will work with juveniles ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. Additionally, the program will develop an overall comprehensive approach to child welfare within the Tribes to address not only their juvenile population but also provide the opportunity to work with the families and to assist them in developing core family relationships.

CA/NCF