January 2012
On January 8, 2012, the first “Shared Solutions Summit” was held in Austin, where judges, clerks, prosecutors, attorneys, and others involved in the courts across Texas shared best practices and procedures for handling criminal, child protection, juvenile, and civil cases.
The conference, led by Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson, promoted the exercise of judicial leadership at the local level, the use of data-driven strategies, and a collaborative approach to ensure that cases are disposed efficiently and with improved outcomes.
Chief Justice Jefferson hopes to offer the program to a new group of local teams at least every other year.
We commend Carl Reynolds of the Office of Court Administration, the Texas Judicial Council, the Texas Office of Urban Counties, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Supreme Court Children’s Commission, the State Justice Institute, Net IQ™, each of the presenters, and all of the many others for their work organizing and participating in this conference.
Click here to read the agenda!
PRESENTATIONS
Click here to download a copy of the presentation by TCJC and Jim Bethke (Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission) called Containing the Costs of Criminal Justice, which discusses criminal justice costs at the state and county levels, local programs that have proven successful in reducing the costs associated with criminal justice demands, and the need for collaborative solutions to save taxpayer dollars while boosting public safety.
Below are the links to 10 other presentations offered during the conference:
- The Shared Solutions Imperative by Hon. Wallace B. Jefferson, Mr. Rick Figueroa, Dr. Barry Bales, and Judge John Specia: This discusses the need and potential strategies for pursuing “shared solutions” for criminal justice, mental health, child protection, juvenile justice, and self-represented litigants.
- Mental Health Courts (links below) by Judge Susan Hawk, Dee Wilson, and Mary Cowherd: This discusses the essential elements and goals of a mental health court; the leadership, collaboration and data issues in developing the court; and the technical assistance and resources that are available to assist in the development of a mental health court.
- Judge Susan Hawk's presentation: This specifically discusses mental health statistics and trends, as well as an overview of Dallas County’s effective A.T.L.A.S. mental health court model.
- Dee Wilson's presentation: This specifically discusses the intersection of mental health and criminal justice in Texas.
- Mary Cowherd's presentation: This specifically discusses funding resources and technical assistance for mental health courts.
- Juvenile Justice by Catherine Klier: This discusses best practices for municipal courts that employ juvenile case managers, as well as recent legislation emphasizing models, implementation issues, and court-community collaboration.
- Caseflow Management, the Center of Court Solutions by David Slayton and Bob Wessels: This discusses fundamental elements of caseflow management, the consequences of neglecting caseflow management, key issues for judges, and the benefits and basics of online, automated case processing.
- Video Teleconferencing: Justice System Applications and Tips by Bryan Wilson and Casey Kennedy: This discusses a wide variety of cost-saving uses of VTC technology in Texas courts, and easy lessons on how to implement it.
- Services for Litigants by Katie Bond and Trish McAllister: This discusses state and local “pro se” (self-representation) trends, as well as strategies for saving court time and litigant frustration – e.g., coordinating periodic legal services clinics, establishing a self-help center, and obtaining judicial buy-in for use of forms in high-volume cases.
- Courts for Children and Families by Tina Amberboy and Judge John Specia: This discusses strategies to help judges identify opportunities to exhibit their leadership and examine county-specific child welfare data, as well as available resources, consultation options, and data offerings provided by child welfare agencies or organizations.
Note: These presentations will soon be available via video. Stay tuned for the link.