SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 27, No. 9 

Juvenile Justice Reform 

and the State Courts 

1 

SJI Awards 3rd Quarter 

Grants 

2 

Changes to the Education Support Program 2-3 

 

June 2017 

efforts and programs across the U.S. Beginning in 

2013, MacArthur transitioned to a “legacy phase” 

which developed Resource Centers for juvenile justice 

focused on specific areas of reform. The state courts 

have been a major stakeholder group throughout these 

efforts. As part of the legacy phase, MacArthur 

funded five Conference of Chief Justices/Conference 

of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) regional 

juvenile justice reform summits, led by the CCJ/

COSCA Courts, Children, and Families Committee 

and staffed by the National Center for State Courts

(NCSC). For the summits, the Chief Justices were 

invited to send a 5-person state team to participate in 

each region. The purpose of the summits was to identify best practices and develop state level plans for 

addressing juvenile justice reform. States are now in 

the process of implementing these action plans. 

Resource Center partners and other key organizations 

have been involved in the Models for Change initiative and the CCJ/COSCA summits, including the 

NCSC, the National Council of State Legislatures

(NCSL), the National Council of Juvenile and Family 

Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the Center for Children’s 

Law & Policy (CCLP), the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC), and the RFK National Resource Center (RFK-NRC). Unfortunately, there were 

no resources to provide technical assistance to state 

teams as they implement their action plans, and work 

with key stakeholders on juvenile justice reform efforts. 

SJI is excited to announce it is funding the Juvenile 

Justice Reform and State Courts Initiative, which will 

Over the past several years, the 

MacArthur Foundation has provided significant funding to support the Models for Change initiative, which has identified and 

developed juvenile justice reform 

New Juvenile Justice Reform and the State Courts 

Initiative Will Work to Improve Outcomes 

for Youth and Families 

enable the Resource Center partners to develop national resources and TA for the state courts on this 

critical area. In collaboration with CCJ and COSCA, 

the 2-year project will build on the CCJ/COSCA 

regional summit and state team work, and be informed by the Models for Change Initiative. The 

CCJ/COSCA Courts, Children, and Families Committee and the CCJ/COSCA Criminal Justice Committee will appoint a 10-member Advisory Committee to oversee the project. 

The NCSC, NCSL, NCJFCJ, CCLP, NJDC, and 

RFK-NRC will serve as the Expert Working Group 

for the project. The Expert Working Group will: 

identify juvenile justice policy, procedures, and 

practices that should be reformed; 

propose projects to be funded by the initiative; 

provide expertise to identify subject matter 

experts; and 

provide TA, training and other activities to the 

state teams as they continue to implement their 

action plans. 

The Expert Working Group will also promote court 

community sharing by disseminating information 

about the initiative and its resources through various 

websites, conference presentations, and social media. Initial topics identified by the Expert Working 

Group include: access to counsel; dual status youth; 

mental and behavioral health; probation; risk/needs 

assessments; status offenders; court administration 

(e.g. data collection, court rules, alternatives to fines 

and fees); and model protocols for special populations, such as military families. 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 9 June 2017 

SJI Awards FY 2017 Third Quarter Grants 

Education Support Program Changes for FY 2018 

The Education 

Support 

Program

(ESP) 

supports 

full-time 

state court judges and court managers to attend courses that enhance 

their knowledge, skills, and abilities which they could not otherwise 

attend because of limited state, local, and personal budgets. Beginning 

in FY 2018 (October 1st), the National Judicial College (NJC) and the 

National Center for State Courts/Institute for Court Management (ICM) 

will administer the ESP program separately, in partnership and with 

funding from SJI. 

COVERED COSTS 

The Education Support Program (ESP) only covers the cost of tuition 

up to a maximum of $1,000 per award. Awards will be made for the 

exact amount requested for tuition. Funds to pay tuition in excess of 

$1,000, and other costs of participating in a course such as travel, transportation, meals, materials, and transportation to and from airports 

(including rental cars) at the site of the education program, must be obtained from other sources or be borne by the ESP award recipient. 

ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS 

Because of the limited amount of funding available, only full-time 

judges of state or local trial and appellate courts; full-time professional 

state or local court personnel with management responsibilities or on a 

professional career track; and supervisory and management probation 

officials in judicial branch probation offices are eligible for the program. Senior judges, part-time judges, quasi-judicial hearing officers 

including referees and commissioners, administrative law judges, staff 

attorneys, law clerks, line staff, law enforcement officers, and other executive branch personnel are not eligible. Applicants are limited to one 

The SJI Board of Directors met on June 5, 2017, at SJI Headquarters in 

Reston, Virginia, to make decisions on quarterly grant applications, and 

awarded a total of ten (10) new grants. 

A Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) was awarded to the National Center 

for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with the Conference of Chief 

Justices (CCJ), the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), 

the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL), the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the Center for Children’s Law & Policy (CCLP), the National Juvenile Defender Center

(NJDC), and the RFK National Resource Center (RFK-NRC), to advance juvenile justice efforts through developing national resources and 

technical assistance for state courts. The project will build on the CCJ/

COSCA regional juvenile justice summits and state team work, and be 

informed by the Models for Change Initiative. A SIG was also awarded 

to the NCJFJC to update the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines, which 

will be linked to the work of the broader effort on juvenile justice reform. SJI remains committed to improving juvenile justice in the state 

courts, and these two major initiatives will further advance those efforts. A SIG was also awarded to the NCSC to develop a Leadership 

Academy for presiding judges and court administrators to promote a 

new approach to judicial leadership based on previous work, such as the 

Harvard Executive Session for State Court Leaders in the 21st Century. 

Two (2) Project Grants were awarded: 1) a collaboration between the 

NCSC, the American Judges Association (AJA), NCJFCJ, and the National College of Probate Judges (NCPJ) to develop judicial response 

protocols to guide judges in taking preemptive steps to address allegations or evidence of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation in guardianship 

cases; and 2) a project to provide guidance to state courts on how to 

respond to requests for accommodations related to disabilities in the 

jury setting. 

A Technical Assistance Grant was awarded to the 2nd Judicial District 

Court of Nevada plan and develop a shared Self-Help Center for selfrepresented litigants accessing the District Court and the Reno Justice 

Court. Four (4) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were 

awarded including: support to the National Judicial College (NJC) to 

adapt Probate Courts: Contemporary Issues using the highly successful 

SJI-funding curriculum Probate Matters, with an emphasis on the National Probate Court Standards; an Institute for Court Management 

training program for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois; and a 

faculty development workshop for judges and court staff in New York. 

Continued on page 3 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Chair 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Vice Chair

Daniel J. Becker 

State Court Administrator 

Utah AOC 

Salt Lake City, UT 

Secretary 

Gayle A. Nachtigal 

Senior Circuit Court Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

John B. Nalbandian 

Partner 

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP 

Cincinnati, OH 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of New York (ret.) 

Of Counsel 

Latham @ Watkins, LLP 

New York, NY 

John D. Minton, Jr. 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Kentucky 

Frankfort, KY 

David V. Brewer 

Justice 

Oregon Supreme Court 

Salem, OR 

Wilfredo Martinez 

County Judge 

9th Judicial Circuit of Florida 

Orlando, FL 

Marsha J. Rabiteau 

Executive Director 

Legal Policy Strategies Group 

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 federallyfunded, non-profit corporation established by 

federal law in 1984 to improve the quality of 

justice in the state courts. 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 9 June 2017 

ESP award every other fiscal year (i.e. if awarded an ESP in FY 2018, 

the applicant will remain ineligible until FY 2020), unless the course 

specifically assumes multi-year participation as part of a certificate program. 

ELIGIBLE COURSES 

Awards are only for courses presented by the NJC and ICM in a U.S. 

jurisdiction to participants in the U.S. or U.S. Territories. These courses 

are designed to enhance the skills of new or experienced judges and 

court managers. Participation during annual or mid-year conferences or 

meetings of a state or national organization does not qualify for ESP 

purposes, even though the conference may include workshops or other 

training sessions. 

HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY 

For NJC courses:

To seek an ESP to attend an NJC course, simply find the 

course you wish to attend on the NJC website: 

www.judges.org/courses, and click “register.” During the 

registration process, the website will ask whether you need a 

scholarship to attend. Simply follow the online instructions 

to request tuition assistance. If you have any questions 

about this process, you may contact NJC Scholarship Coordinator Rebecca Bluemer, at bleumer@judges.org; or 800-255-8343. The NJC 

reserves the right to apply additional selection criteria. 

For ICM courses:

To seek an ESP to participate in the ICM Fellows 

Program, submit a completed application to ICM 

Education Program Manager Amy McDowell, at 

amcdowell@ncsc.org. If you have any questions 

about this process, you may contact her at 757-259

-1552 or via email. 

To seek an ESP to participate in an ICM course, find the course you 

wish to attend on the ICM website: www.courses.ncsc.org, and click 

“register.” During the registration process, the website will ask if you 

need a scholarship to participate. Follow the online instructions to 

request tuition assistance. If you have any questions about this process, you may contact, ICM Director of National Programs Margaret 

Allen, at mallen@ncsc.org; or 757-259-1581. ICM reserves the right 

to apply additional selection criteria. 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ESP AWARD RECIPIENTS 

Recipients are responsible for disseminating the information received 

from the course, when possible, to their court colleagues locally and, 

if possible, throughout the state. The NJC and ICM may impose additional requirements on recipients. 

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