The Center For Public Policy Studies (CPPS) has 

released a detailed, electronic, interactive Practitioners Guidebook to provide practical information and tools to help the state courts determine 

the impact of immigration on court caseloads, 

policy, operations, and practice, and develop responses for improving court performance in cases 

involving both lawful and illegal immigrants. 

The Guidebook is designed to be used by court 

practitioners who want to obtain the knowledge, 

skills, and tools required to:

 understand the size, composition, and needs 

of immigrant populations in the court;

 understand the connections between federal, 

state, and local immigration law, policy, and 

practice and the implications of these connections on court structure and operations;

 address the multiple aspects of culture that 

routinely accompany immigration;

 implement long-lasting improvements for 

better serving immigrants in court;

 monitor court effectiveness in serving immigrants in court; and 

 help to build a national courts agenda for 

improving court and justice system capacity 

for addressing the impacts of immigration on 

the state courts.

The contents of the 170 page Guidebook are structured around finding answers to the following 

four essential questions about immigration issues 

in the state courts:

 Why should court administrators be concerned about immigration?

 What are the major impacts of federal immigration law, policy, and practice on the state 

courts?

 How can state court actions impact immigrants in ways that differ from other litigants?

 What types of improvements are state courts 

making to address immigration concerns?

The electronic format of the Guidebook is highly 

flexible and user friendly. For example words or 

phrases included in a topic-based index provide 

clickable links to specific topical sections. Web 

links to additional resources are also incorporated 

throughout the document. Moreover, a glossary 

of immigration terms and concepts can be accessed by using a “glossary” link at any point in 

the document. The Guidebook can be downloaded 

free of charge from the SJI website, or the CPPS 

website. 

This project was funded by an SJI Strategic Initiatives Grant (SJI-10-P-045). SJI has been focused 

on addressing immigration issues in the state 

courts since FY 2008. 

For additional information about this initiative 

and technical assistance opportunities, contact Dr. 

John Martin, CPPS, at jamartin@indra.com.

New Practitioners Guidebook For Addressing The 

Impact of Immigration In The State Courts

Volume 21, No. 7 April 2011

E-SJI NEWS

In this Issue

New Practitioners 

Guidebook on Immigration in the State Courts

1

Lycoming, PA Adult 

Treatment Court 

2

2nd Quarter Grant 

Awards

3

FY 2011 

Appropriation

3

Page 1
The 29th Judicial District, 

Court of Common Pleas located in Lycoming, Pennsylvania recently completed an 

evaluation of their adult drug 

court program through the 

support of an SJI Technical 

Assistance grant (SJI-09-T133). The Lycoming County 

Adult Treatment Court 

(LCATC) utilized technical 

assistance services provided by 

Maryland-based Glacier Consulting to conduct an evaluation of the program in accordance with both the 10 Key 

Components of Drug Courts, 

and court-specific goals established for the LCATC.

Established in 1998, the 

LCATC was the first of the 

local diversion and problem 

solving court options explored 

and implemented by the bench. 

This evaluation is the first of 

its kind for the program. It 

examined factors for sustainability and based recommendations on maintaining or enhancing current services provided. 

The National Drug Court Institute advises that programs utilize four key indicators ( retention in treatment; sobriety; 

units of service delivery; and 

recidivism) when judging effectiveness. The evaluators 

concluded that the LCATC 

was exceeding all expectations. 

Specific to the 10 Key Components of Drug Courts, the 

LCATC assessment questions 

addressed each component 

separately, and noted where the 

model used in Lycoming 

County was consistent with the 

national research. In addition, 

they noted where modifications 

were implemented to better 

serve the composition of the 

court program.

The evaluation included the 

following recommendations:

Program Design – it was recommended that the Court review the Policy and Procedures 

Manual for continuity and 

utilization, then develop a Participant Handbook, establishing the criteria and requirements team members have 

unofficially identified as contributing to participant success;

Case Management System –

the review suggests a possible 

integration of case management systems, currently separate, that are used for treatment 

and supervision of participants; 

and

Alumni - LCATC’s Alumni 

Association involves current 

participants in activities with 

an ongoing group of successful 

productive graduates. The 

evaluators recommended that 

the Court develop a presentation and support materials for 

other courts and stakeholders 

regarding this critical element.

Glacier Consulting presented 

the findings of their evaluation 

on the Adult Treatment Court 

Program and a separate study 

on the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Program to stakeholders in late March. 

With 266 graduates through 

October 2010, the Adult Treatment Court maintained a 62 

percent retention rate, and the 

DUI Treatment Court, with 66 

graduates since 2007, maintained a 93 percent retention 

rate. 

The recidivism rate for the 

Adult Treatment Court was 28 

percent, and the rate for the 

younger DUI Treatment court 

was 2.7 percent. In addition to 

lower rates of recidivism than 

the national average, the report 

noted that participants from 

both programs have performed 

more than 46,000 hours of 

community service.

The report highlighted the need 

to focus on younger participants ages 18-30, who have 

greater needs and higher rates 

of recidivism associated with 

their addiction. They also tend 

to be less successful in completing treatment programs.

The Department of Justice/

Bureau of Justice Assistance 

encourages frequent evaluation 

of drug/specialty/problem solving court programs, through 

both self-evaluation and professional third-party services. 

In some cases, a recent evaluation may be required to apply 

for new grants or continued 

funding from a variety of local, 

state, and federal sources. 

A copy of the final report from 

this grant is available on the 

SJI website.

Lycoming, PA Adult Treatment Court Completes Outcome Evaluation 

Page 2

For more information on 

the availability of SJI 

grants to assist with 

evaluations, efficiency 

studies, and diversion/

pre-trial program 

analysis, please review 

the available information 

on Technical Assistance 

grants located on the SJI 

website

E-SJI News Volume 21, No.7 April 2011
The SJI Board of Directors met on April 22, 

2011, to approve new grants for the 2nd

quarter of FY 2011. Nine (9) grants were 

approved totaling $362,223. 

Six (6) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants 

were approved, including: a security assessment of courthouse facilities and operations 

in four diverse judicial districts of the 

Alaska Court System; a case scheduling and 

assignment evaluation for the Maine AOC; 

support of a court reengineering plan for the 

Michigan Courts; a staffing and needs 

analysis at the Des Moines Municipal Court 

in Washington; an assessment of the AOC 

in New Hampshire; and a third phase of 

professional development standardization 

for the National Association for State Judicial Educators (NASJE). 

Three (3) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were approved, including: 

a program for judges focused on removing 

barriers to justice for immigrant women, as 

Board Approves Grants for the Second Quarter

Page 3

requested by the National Association of 

Women Judges; statewide education on the 

operation of Arizona Probate Courts for the 

Arizona AOC; and Institute for Court Management (ICM) training for the San Bernardino County, California, Superior Court.

The FY 2011 3rd Quarter deadline for 

Grant and Scholarship Applications is 

May 1, 2011. The FY 2011 4th Quarter 

deadline for Grant and Scholarship Applications is August 1, 2011. 

SJI Board of Directors

Chairman

James R. Hannah

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Little Rock, AR

Vice Chairman

Daniel J. Becker

State Court Administrator

Utah AOC

Salt Lake City, UT

Secretary

Gayle A. Nachtigal

Judge

Washington County Circuit Court

Hillsboro, OR

Treasurer

Hernan D. Vera

President & CEO

Public Counsel

Los Angeles, CA

Robert A. Miller

Chief Justice (Ret.)

Supreme Court of South Dakota

Pierre, SD

Chase T. Rogers

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Connecticut

Hartford, CT

Wilfredo Martinez

County Judge

9th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Orlando, FL

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Policy Consultant

Rabiteau Consulting

Bloomfield, CT

John B. Nalbandian

Partner

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Cincinnati, OH

Isabel Framer

President

Language Access Consultants, LLC

Copley, OH

Jonathan D. Mattiello

Executive Director

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

federal law in 1984 to improve the quality of 

justice in state courts, and foster innovative, 

efficient solutions to common issues faced by 

all courts. SJI is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the President. 

$1,250,000. This will allow SJI to continue 

working on critical issues impacting the 

state courts, and the increased demand for 

grant funding. SJI greatly appreciates the 

continued support from both the President 

and Congress. This funding is critical to 

supporting worthwhile projects that improve 

the administration of justice in the state 

courts.

On April 15, 2011, the President signed into 

law the FY 2011 Department of Defense 

and Full-Year Consolidated Appropriations 

Act (P.L. 112-10), which provided 

$5,120,738 for SJI. This is essentially the 

same funding level provided in FY 2010, 

except for a rescission of 0.2 percent. The 

Act also increased the available funding for 

SJI’s Strategic Initiatives Grants program to 

FY 2011 Appropriation Will Enable SJI to Continue Focusing on National Court Issues

E-SJI News Volume 21, No.7 April 2011