SJI Newsletter

April 2020 | Volume 30, No. 7

New Resource Links Courts to Funding Opportunities

SJI recognizes that funding plays an important role in fostering innovation. However,

many courts are unfamiliar with these funding opportunities, and how these resources can

be leveraged. In response, SJI, in partnership with Rulo Strategies, launched a Funding

Toolkit for State Courts and Justice System Partners.

The online toolkit launch was accompanied by a 90-minute webinar that provided an

overview of the online toolkit, as well as details about: federal funding sources; current

funding opportunities for courts; current funding opportunities for court partners; grant

writing tips; and how to access virtual technical assistance.

The contents of the online toolkit are updated weekly with new resources, including:

• specific federal non-profit funding resources most relevant to courts;

• an overview of each funding opportunity along with detailed guides

and sample templates for required application documents;

• virtual learning opportunities such as webinars and podcasts;
 

To request virtual technical assistance, or to submit a funding question, contact us

at fundingtoolkit@sji.gov.

Join the Funding Toolkit mailing list to receive notifications about upcoming virtual learning

opportunities, new resources and other updates to the toolkit.

Court Support Organizations

Provide Resources on COVID-19

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted operations significantly in state courts across the 

United States, and courts across the world. SJI has assisted a number of key partners in the 

immediate release of resources to judges, administrators, clerks, staff, and justice system partners. 

The list below contains an overview of some of these resources:

1. National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has several resources to help courts through this

public health emergency: www.ncsc.org/pandemic

2. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) is continuing to provide

information related to COVID-19: https://www.ncjfcj.org/covid-19-resources-and-updates/

3. The National Judicial College has been offering regular webcasts and more information via the

NJC Podcast: https://www.judges.org/

4. National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) is hosting a centralized portal for

drug treatment court teams to access a variety of information:

https://www.nadcp.org/covid-19-resources/

5. The National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) is keeping their site updated on the

pandemic: https://www.nawj.org/covid-19
NCSC Tiny Chats: Short Annotated

Videos with Practical Advice

Learn about best practices, hear from experts from the National Center for State Courts

(NCSC) and elsewhere, and have a chance to think through court operations in the time 

of COVID-19, with an access to justice lens.

Subscribe: ncsc.org/tinychatsubscribe

See all Tiny Chats: ncsc.org/tinychats

Schedule a 30 minute brainstorming session: ncsc.org/drtinychat

In direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Karen Lash, from The Justice 

Government Project at American University has developed a compendium of the federal

block/formula/open-ended reimbursement funds (AKA federal pass through funds), which

are available now to state and local courts to support civil self-help, technology 

innovation, and domestic violence. To support jurisdictions interested in exploring these 

kinds of funding opportunities, the NCSC has released a 15-minute conversation.
New Report Highlights States’

Civil Justice Reform Efforts

The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), and the 

National Center for State Courts (NCSC) finalized a three-year project with the release 

of their new report, Transforming Our Civil Justice System for the 21st Century: The 

Road to Civil Justice Reform. The report highlights the experiences of four states—

Idaho, Maine, Missouri, and Texas – as they worked to implement guidelines adopted 

by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court 

Administrators (COSCA) to ensure the just, prompt, and cost-effective resolution of civil 

cases in state courts. With support from SJI, IAALS and NCSC provided each state 

with the guidance and tools necessary to support successful implementation, and then 

circled back to interview those involved. Due to COVID-19, courts are currently 

operating under uniquely challenging circumstances and a tight timeframe—while 

reform takes time, the need for change has been accelerated. The experiences of the 

states in this report, and their use of Transforming Our Civil Justice System for the 21st 

Century: A Roadmap for Implementation – a set of seven clear steps for courts to follow 

when implementing change – can provide invaluable guidance to other courts. The 

Roadmap steps provide a key framework for reform that states can follow: leadership; 

assessment and definition of issues; engagement of stakeholders to gain input; 

development of vision and goals for reform; clear recommendations; and action.
Treatment Court Resources

During the Pandemic

With support from SJI, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and

the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has released a new guide: Treatment Courts

and COVID-19 What to Consider During a Pandemic. The guide provides practical

solutions for treatment courts as they adapt to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, including

timely information for judges, practitioners, and partners involved in treatment courts. The

guide includes both short- and long-term examples on ways courts can maintain positive

outcomes, while protecting the safety of treatment court participants and the community.

In addition to this guide, the NADCP is maintaining a COVID-19 Resources website for the

treatment court community. The website includes:

• Adaptations by treatment courts to state/local restrictions regarding

• COVID-19; A Hot Topics, Q&A, and A-Z Resource Index;

• Numerous Training and Publications, including webinars and resources from

NADCP for programs responding to COVID-19; and,

• Relevant federal, state, and national partner resources from the experts in

federal and state governments and national associations.

NADCP’s annual conference – All Rise – made the decision to go virtual in May 2020.

Those interested in the world's largest conference on addiction, mental health, and justice

reform, will join experts from across disciplines for the latest on COVID-19 responses and

much more.
NACM Plain Language Guide

Re-Released as Downloadable PDF

Courts and legal services organizations are creating new resources to help people 

with legal issues navigate the justice system during the pandemic. To support legal

professionals engaged in these initiatives, the National Association for Court 

Management (NACM) is re-releasing the NACM Plain Language Guide as a free 

downloadable PDF.

NACM hopes that this comprehensive guide on how to incorporate plain language

into court forms, websites, and other materials will help authors and designers create 

content and solutions that are easily understandable by everyone. Even in these 

challenging times, courts and legal professionals are working hard to improve access 

to justice. NACM applauds the undeterred efforts of the court community and will 

continue to serve as an access point for resources and timely information.
Using Alternative Dispute

Resolution to Meet Justice Needs

The National Center for State Courts has released a new white paper for evaluating 

the cost/benefit of various strategies for expanding access to justice, with a 

particular focus on litigant portals and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). The paper 

proposes more of an “engineering” approach by introducing an analytical tool for 

organizations working on closing the access gap to estimate the potential impact of 

proposed solutions. 

The tool can be used to:

1. assess the magnitude of an access problem that could be solved by a 

specific capability;

2. identify barriers that must be surmounted or reduced to achieve program 

objectives;

3. prioritize the tasks that must be performed and the capabilities that must 

be implemented to close the targeted gaps.

The sub-equations in the tool can also be used to systematically think through steps 

to be taken for successful implementation.
SJI Board of Directors

Chair

John D. Minton, Jr.

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Kentucky

Frankfort, KY

Vice Chair

Daniel J. Becker

State Court Administrator 

(ret.) Utah AOC

Salt Lake City, UT

Secretary

Gayle A. Nachtigal

Senior Circuit Court Judge

Washington County Circuit 

Court Hillsboro, OR

Treasurer

David V. Brewer

Justice

Oregon Supreme Court

Salem, OR

Jonathan Lippman

Chief Judge of New York (ret.)

of Counsel

Latham & Watkins, LLP

New York, NY

Chase T. Rogers

Chief Justice (ret.)

Supreme Court of Connecticut

Partner

Pitney Day, LLP

Hartford, CT

Wilfredo Martinez

Senior Judge

State of Florida

Orlando, FL

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Executive Director

Center for Human Trafficking Court 

Solutions Bloomfield, CT

Hernan D. Vera

Principal

Bird Marella P.C.

Los Angeles, CA

Isabel Framer

President

Language Access Consultants, LLC

Copley, OH

Jonathan D. Mattiello

Executive Director

The State Justice Institute is a federally-funded, non-profit corporation established by

federal law in 1984 to improve the quality of justice in the state courts.

Products and Resources

Since 2011, SJI has designated the library at the National Center for State Courts as

the official repository of published work related to SJI-supported grant projects. You

can search the ecollection online by using the term, State Justice Institute.

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information of interest to the entire state court community.If your organization’s work

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