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May 2009 Vol. 19

-SJI News

, No. 8 

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NEW STRATEGIC INITIATIVES GRANTS 

WILL CONTINUE ADDRESSING NATIONAL COURT ISSUES

During the April 24, 2009, Board meeting, two new Strategic Initiatives Grants (SIG) were awarded; one to the 

Center for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) for Phase II of the Immigration and the State Courts project; and one to 

the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to address state court budgeting issues. These SIG projects, 

totaling $470,000, will address two high priority issues impacting the state courts. 

During the second phase of the Immigration and the State Courts project, CPPS will continue their work in 

Maricopa County, Arizona; Miami-Dade County, Florida; and western Minnesota. In addition, CPPS will 

expand their work to additional diverse learning sites across the United States. The new sites will be selected 

on the basis of obtaining a different mix of immigrant populations, active court and court administration 

participation, geographic diversity, and the existence of state laws that might have consequences for both 

federal and state immigration policy and practice. The learning site assessment and technical assistance tools 

developed in Phase I will be expanded and tested in the new sites. Other activities included in Phase II are: the 

development and testing of a model measurement system for determining the magnitude and impacts of 

immigration in state trial courts; the preparation of a family and juvenile electronic bench guide; development 

of training courses for both judicial and non-judicial court personnel to create a capacity to understand the scope 

and consequences of immigration on a state court; and practical strategies to facilitate on-going federal/state 

dialog on these issues. 

The second SIG project will enable NSCS to provide direct technical assistance to state courts facing severe 

budget shortfalls. The current and projected fiscal conditions for state and local governments are extremely 

dire; having a significant negative impact on the state courts. SJI has already received grant requests to assist 

state courts in these difficult times. For example, this year SJI awarded a grant to the Vermont Supreme Court 

to re-engineer the court system as a result of budget shortfalls in that state. This SIG project will provide the 

technical assistance needed to assist the state courts in adapting to budget cuts, while maintaining service 

delivery and access to justice. The assistance will include: documenting and analyzing the experiences at 

selected sites for general guidance for courts; and assistance to the sites in defining and prioritizing their 

options, and re-engineering processes. The results of NCSC’s work in the selected sites will be made available 

to all state courts. 

National Institute of Corrections and 

SJI Support Risk Assessments in 

Sentencing 2, 3

Inside

President’s Budget Includes 

Funding for SJI 2

FY 2009 3rd Quarter Grant 

Applications 3 
PRESIDENT’S BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDING FOR SJI 

The recently released full version of the FY 2010 President’s Budget includes SJI’s full request of $5,131,000. 

SJI greatly appreciates the support, especially from the Office of Management and Budget who recommended 

to the President that SJI be included in his budget proposal for FY 2010. The funding requested will enable SJI 

to continue identifying issues that impact all courts, fostering innovative solutions, and sharing information on 

successful approaches nationwide. 

An excerpted version of the President’s Budget Appendix that includes the SJI request is now available on the 

SJI website: http://www.sji.gov/PDF/FY_2010_Presidents_Budget_SJI.pdf. 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS AND SJI 

SUPPORT RISK ASSESSMENTS IN SENTENCING 

       

SJI and the Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Prisons/National Institute of Corrections (NIC) recently 

finalized a Partner Grant to support the California Risk Assessment Pilot Project (CALRAPP). The purpose of 

the project is to explore ways in which criminal offender risk assessment information can be successfully used 

in adult sentencing and violation of probation proceedings to reduce offender recidivism and improve 

accountability. The Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) will work jointly 

with the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) to coordinate the operation and evaluation of pilot 

locations in several counties. 

This project will build upon recent and on-going national and state sentencing reform activities to demonstrate 

one of the most promising developments in state sentencing and corrections reform – the use of actuarial 

risk/needs assessment information. A variety of proprietary and non-proprietary risk/needs assessment tools are 

now increasingly in use by juvenile and adult probation and parole agencies. (continued on page 3) 

Page 2 E-SJI News – Vol. 19, No. 8
Board of Directors

Chairman

Robert A. Miller 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

Supreme Court of South Dakota 

Pierre, SD 

Vice Chairman

Joseph F. Baca 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

New Mexico Supreme Court 

Santa Fe, NM 

Secretary

Sandra A. O’Connor 

States Attorney of Baltimore 

County (Ret.) 

Towson, MD 

Executive Committee Member

Keith McNamara, Esq. 

McNamara & McNamara 

Columbus, OH 

Terrence B. Adamson, Esq. 

Executive Vice-President 

The National Geographic Society 

Robert N. Baldwin 

Executive Vice President and 

General Counsel 

National Center for State Courts 

Sophia H. Hall 

Administrative Presiding Judge 

Circuit Court of Cook County 

Chicago, IL 

Tommy Jewell 

Presiding Children’s Court Judge 

(Ret.) 

Second Judicial District Court 

Albuquerque, NM 

Arthur A. McGiverin 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

Supreme Court of Iowa 

Des Moines, IA 

Janice Munsterman 

Executive Director 

Jonathan Mattiello 

Deputy Director 

The State Justice Institute is a 

private, 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 and 

confirmed by the Senate. 

Unfortunately, while there are over 15,000 state courts in the U.S., only a 

handful of state judges and courts have significant experience in using 

risk/needs assessment information in sentencing offenders or responding to 

violations of probation. However, the use of accurate risk and needs 

assessment information is critical in making evidence-based judicial 

determinations of many recurring sentencing issues. 

The California AOC will select 6 sites to participate in this project based on 

obtaining optimal diversity in location, size, region, availability of resources, 

and urban/rural settings. The project will target male and female offenders 

between the ages of 18 and 25 who are residents of the selected pilot counties, 

convicted of a felony offense, and placed on formal probation. Members of 

the target population remain members of the project until they are discharged 

from probation, establish a residence outside the pilot county, or until the 

conclusion of the project, whichever occurs first. Technical assistance will be 

provided to the pilot sites throughout the project. The project will facilitate 

case planning, reduce recidivism, and improve offender accountability. 

FY 2009 3rd QUARTER GRANT APPLICATIONS 

SJI received 12 grant applications requesting a total of $724,747 for the 3rd

quarter of FY 2009. The Board will meet on June 26, 2009, to make decisions 

on grant awards for the 3rd quarter. The results of this Board meeting will be 

available the following week. 

 

 

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 

3⁄4 Next grant and scholarship application deadline: August 1, 2009 

(4th Quarter, FY 2009). 

3⁄4 The FY 2009 SJI Grant Guideline is available on the SJI website. 

3⁄4 All SJI forms are available on the website under the following tab: 

http://www.sji.gov/forms.php. 

Page 3 E-SJI News – Vol. 19, No. 8