Volume 25, No. 5 February 2015 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

Page 1 

New Information Card on Unaccompanied 

Immigrant Children and the State Courts 

Find Exclusive 

SJI Content on 

Facebook and 

Twitter

For more content from the recent SJI Board meeting, important national resource announcements, and partner updates, look 

no further than the SJI Facebook

and Twitter . 

The Center for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) and the 

National Center for State Courts (NCSC), working 

under an SJI Strategic Initiatives Grant (SJI-13-P095), recently released an information card. 

The card focuses on federal Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), which provides unaccompanied 

immigrant children, defined as Unaccompanied 

Alien Children (UACs) in federal immigration law, 

with a temporary right to remain in the U.S. and 

apply for permanent resident status. In cases where 

the UAC wants to apply to the U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Service (USCIS) for SIJS, the juvenile 

must supply USCIS with a state juvenile court order 

with certain findings. 

This information card also provides details on the 

types of findings required, and the types of cases 

where these juveniles will most likely end up in state 

courts. 

The need for reliable and accessible data is critical 

and permeates Michigan’s juvenile justice system on 

every level. Although the juvenile courts and stakeholders collect a variety of data and report to multiple state and local entities, due to the courts decentralized nature, current juvenile justice data is disaggregated, inaccurate, inconsistent, difficult to access, 

and incomplete. In addition, data is increasingly 

mandated by funders; required by courts and state 

agencies to measure program outcomes; and sought 

by juvenile courts and justice system stakeholders to 

improve the quality of justice for, and services provided to, Michigan’s youth. 

Through an SJI Technical Assistance grant (SJI-13-T

-086), a statewide partnership called Juvenile Justice 

UAC Information Card 1 

Michigan Juvenile 

Justice Data Sharing 

1-2 

Arkansas Judiciary 

Court Security Training 

2 

State of State Courts 

Poll 

3 

Continues on page 2 

Michigan Juvenile Justice 

Data Sharing Project 
Page 2 

E-SJI News Volume 25, No. 5 February 2015 

In FY 2008, SJI awarded a grant to the AOC 

to develop training programs for Court Security Officers (CSOs), and create a core group 

of CSOs to deliver the training to their colleagues (SJI-08-T-147). The AOC has trained 

more than 1,600 CSOs under the curricula 

developed with funding from that 

grant. Based on that success, the AOC requested and received a second grant to develop 

and deliver online curricula that will ensure 

interactive delivery and efficient provision of 

training to more CSOs across the state. The 

online training is now available nationally to 

all courts. 

Arkansas Court Security Officer Training (SJI14-E-014) is a highly interactive course featuring virtual simulations of active shooter 

events, role-playing and scenario-based interactive assessments allowing users to immedi 

Arkansas Judiciary Develops First Ever 

Online Court Security Training 

ately put knowledge into action. Because 

courthouses must be accessible and in centralized locations, they are vulnerable to acts of 

random violence. Courts must have proper 

court security procedures, technology, personnel, and architectural features, to not only 

protect the safety of the people and property 

within and around the courts, but also the integrity of the judicial process. While there is 

no one solution to issues concerning court 

security, proper planning must involve collaboration with law enforcement offices, emergency agencies, and governing bodies. This 

course provides the learner with many new 

skills including: how to respond to an active 

shooter; best practices in court security; judicial threat management; and body language as 

a communication tool. The course if available 

for free, with unlimited access, through the 

National Center for State Courts/Institute for 

Court Management. 

Continued from page 1 

Vision 20/20 was created to improve Michigan’s juvenile justice data issues. Juvenile 

Justice 20/20 includes state and local partners 

and the 20th Circuit Court/Ottawa County, 

which provides fiduciary and project management services. 

The objectives of the project are: 1) develop 

and finalize the planning process by analyzing 

current juvenile justice data sharing system 

and data sharing needs, and determining next 

steps; 2) gather input from partners and include them in the development of a multijurisdictional juvenile justice data sharing 

model using tools developed by the Global 

Justice Information Sharing Initiative 

(GLOBAL), and also sharing information with 

the State of Ohio; 3) develop a Data Dictionary with common data definitions; 4) identify 

common risk assessment data elements; and, 

5) complete and submit a grant application 

reflecting the development of a juvenile justice 

data sharing model to the U.S. Department of 

Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), 

and complete a final project report. 

SJI funding supported the critical analysis and 

strategic planning efforts at the beginning of 

the project. SJI also supported the development of a Juvenile Justice Data Dictionary, 

which provided an opportunity to build consensus within the juvenile justice community 

around common terms and definitions - the 

first step to creating a common language 

among the juvenile courts and the state. This 

Dictionary was foundational in the development of the Data Sharing Model. 

With subsequent support from BJA, the Michigan Multi-jurisdictional Juvenile Justice Data 

Sharing Model was developed and will be 

implemented in five pilot juvenile courts strategically chosen for their respective case management systems by March 31, 2015. Additional state funding will provide expansion of 

this Model to four additional courts. A catalog 

of the publications produced by the Juvenile 

Justice 20/20 project can be found online. 
Page 3 

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 

Senior Circuit Court Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

Hernan D. Vera 

Principal 

Bird Marella P.C. 

Los Angeles, CA 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of the State of New York 

New York Court of Appeals 

New York, NY 

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 

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 the state courts. 

E-SJI News Volume 25, No. 5 February 2015 

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) 

recently published the results from its comprehensive public opinion survey of 1,000 registered voters. The survey was conducted by 

telephone November 12 - 16, 2014. 

Key findings of the survey include: 

Courts remain the most trusted branch of 

government; 

Court users express confidence in fairness 

of proceedings, but have doubts about 

customer service and job performance; 

There is a strong demand for greater 

availability of online services; and, 

The public worries that politics undermines the impartiality of the court system 

A summary of poll results provided by the 

firm, GBA Strategies, and the presentation are 

available for viewing. 

NCSC Announces 2014 State of 

State Courts Poll Results 

E-SJI News 

Submissions 

SJI is always accepting submissions 

from its grantees for the E-SJI News. 

Articles of 500 words or less from 

projects that are either: a) ongoing, 

with information to share; or, b) have 

recently completed and could be 

beneficial to a larger state court audience, are of greatest interest. SJI 

reserves the right to edit all submissions for any reason. 

Submissions, including all article 

content in Microsoft Word, images 

or logos, and any links, should be 

sent to us electronically at 

kathryn.tuck@sji.gov by the 15th of 

each month.