Join advocate and 2014 treatment court graduate Carrie McCoy as she explores the benefits of enhancing employment opportunities for treatment court participants, and how employers can improve the hiring process to overcome systemic barriers to employment for individuals in recovery. This edition of Court Chat is proudly presented by the Racial and Ethnic Disparities Initiative (REDI) at American University, in Washington, DC.
New Publication! An Equity and Inclusion State of Mind: A Statewide Approach to Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment Courts
The criminal legal system has a well-documented history of racial disparities and mistreatment of minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Treatment courts are a part of this same system and unfortunately, have not been exempt from racial and ethnic disparities in its programs. American University and the Center for Justice Innovation collaborated to assist treatment courts in several states in tackling racial and ethnic disparities. This report outlines results and policy recommendations derived from American University’s and the Center for Justice Innovation’s racial and ethnic disparities statewide training and technical assistance collaboration.
Read the report here.
If you’d like additional information, please reach out to Karen Otis (otisk@innovatingjustice.org) or Zephi Francis (zfarncis@american.edu).
Rectifying Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) in Treatment Courts
Treatment courts are working and there’s evidence to support it. A drug treatment court is a judicially supervised court docket that provides a sentencing alternative to incarceration for people facing drug charges and who have substance use disorders. Treatment courts support clients through recovery using judicial oversight and evidence-based treatments, reduce the likelihood of participants committing new crimes, and save communities money. However, some treatment courts have experienced racial and ethnic disparities (RED), with minoritized individuals having differential access to programs, as well as completing programs at a lesser rate than their white counterparts.
To assist treatment courts in understanding and examining disparities in their programs, faculty and staff at American University’s (AU) School of Publics Affairs (SPA) along with subject matter experts in the field developed the Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) Program Assessment Tool (RED tool). The RED tool is a web-based assessment designed to examine treatment courts’ policies and procedures to determine where racial and ethnic disparities (RED) may exist in programs. It’s been four years since the RED tool was launched. During this time, over 150 treatment courts have completed the assessment.
After completing the RED tool, some treatment courts were trying to figure out the next steps for their court to address equity and inclusion issues. Hearing the need for next steps motivated a team at AU to apply for funding to do a deeper dive with courts on RED issues. In 2022, having heard the same calls from the field, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) opened a solicitation to fund exactly this type of innovation in programming. The team at AU led by Preeti Menon and Zephi Francis, along with partners at Florida State University, Morgan State University, the University of Central Florida, and Aeon applied for the Field Initiated solicitation and received good news in the fall of 2022.
BJA awarded the team a grant of $1 million over a period of three years to establish the Racial and Ethnic Disparities Initiative (REDI). Through research, policy development, and training and technical assistance (TTA), REDI will work with treatment courts to understand and reduce disparities in their programs.
“When Preeti and I found out that we received the award, we were on campus for the first time together since COVID-19 struck. On that day, we were preparing for an in-person documentary screening and panel discussion on the intersection of substance use, mental health issues, and homelessness,” REDI’s Project Director Zephi Francis said. “We knew that this project was going to be a great opportunity for us to continue the work that we both are passionate about, while advancing BJA’s priority of racial equity.”
With this funding, the REDI team will recruit treatment courts to complete the RED tool, analyze the data, and release guidance on best practices to assist treatment court professionals with decision-making. Another component of REDI entails offering intensive TTA to treatment courts. TTA involves courts participating in multiple virtual sessions with expert faculty to discuss topics identified by the court as priority areas to make their programs more racially and ethnically inclusive. Finally, the REDI team will create online modules for treatment court professionals to learn about best practices and innovative strategies regarding RED.
May is National Treatment Court Month. It’s a time to celebrate all the good work that treatment courts are doing. The REDI team would also encourage treatment courts to use this month as an opportunity to learn more about the RED tool, and take proactive steps to address any disparities in their programs.
It’s Time to Graduate
Remember the music from the early 2000s? And how endless debates about which boy band was the best or who was a better performer between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera filled our ears. Then, there were many one-hit wonders like Vitamin C who released Graduation (Friends Forever). Below is an excerpt from the lyrics:
“As we go on/We remember/All the times we/Had together/And as our lives change/Come whatever/We will still be/Friends forever.”
A Social Work Professor Serves the Court
What’s celebrated in March? In addition to St. Patrick’s Day, Women’s History Month, and National Criminal Justice Month, we also celebrate Social Work Month. In honor of the many contributions social work has made to treatment 
courts, I decided to highlight a person whose work is beneficial to the practices and procedures of treatment courts. Dr. Anne Dannerbeck Janku is an associate research professor at the University of Missouri. For almost two decades, she has conducted research on racial and ethnic disparities in treatment courts. Continue reading “A Social Work Professor Serves the Court”
Dignity in the Court
If I’m home at 9:00 a.m. on a weekday, the television is most likely tuned to Judge Mathis. Greg Mathis is humorous, but a no-nonsense judge who oversees small claims cases in Chicago. Don’t tell any lawyer, but I feel like I’ve earned an honorary law degree after watching this show for many years. For many people, television is their only knowledge of the court system. Although entertaining, these shows aren’t an accurate representation of real courtroom proceedings. To learn more about the operations of a court, a treatment court specifically, I visited a docket in a Mid-Atlantic state. Here is what I learned.
You’re Hired
If you’ve looked for a job in the last decade, there is a great chance that Indeed was your go-to search engine. With just a few clicks, thousands of vacant job opportunities were at your fingertips. Granted, many other job-seeking candidates applied for those same employment opportunities. According to Interview Success Formula, on average, companies receive 118 applications for each new position. I think it’s safe to say that the job market is competitive. It’s even harder for treatment court participants who may have a lack of education, limited skills, and/or a substance use disorder.
A Journey to Wellness
In tribal communities throughout the United States, alcohol-related crime and death are immense concerns for citizens. While exploring ideas on how to decrease the high rates of alcohol and substance use by Native American populations for National Drug Court Resource Center, I came across several programs that the Navajo Nation is implementing to combat drug and alcohol problems. In an effort to learn about these initiatives, I got in touch with and interviewed a member of the Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation.