Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment Courts Community of Practice

All Rise, in partnership with American University, is launching a unique educational opportunity through a community of practice to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in treatment courts. Communities of practice comprise ongoing peer meetings and one-on-one faculty coaching and technical assistance.

This innovative initiative aims to recruit and select adult drug courts and veterans treatment courts to participate in a transformative journey from May 2024 through September 2025. Through the initiative, participating court programs will:

• Identify and assess policies and procedures that cause racial and ethnic disparities in their treatment court using the Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) Assessment developed by American University
• Determine action(s) that will decrease the identified disparities
• With the help and support of the community of practice, develop an implementation plan
• Using a strategic planning model, enact the necessary change(s)

The primary goals of the Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment Courts Community of Practice is to empower adult drug courts and veterans treatment courts to enhance acceptance, retention, and graduation rates for underserved populations. By working together, sharing insights, and implementing evidence-based strategies, we aim to create more equitable outcomes within treatment courts across the nation.

• Team assessment: A brief survey to determine general readiness to address racial and ethnic disparities in your treatment court
• RED Assessment
• Eight (8) 90-minute virtual educational sessions addressing:
  • Kickoff Overview and RED Assessment
  • Ensuring Diverse Participants Succeed
  • The Intake Process
  • Marketing Your Treatment Court
  • Treatment Court Team Roles and Responsibilities
  • Inclusive Treatment
  • Data Collection and Reporting
  • Strategic Planning (an implementation model)
• Supporting implementation through the community of practice
  • Seven (7) community-of-practice monthly meetings for coordinators and judges
    • Faculty coaching
    • Office hours
    • Implementation technical assistance
  • Three (3) peer-to-peer full-team learning exchanges, including faculty-facilitated lessons learned

A pre-application webinar was held on April 26, 2024 to share detailed information about the Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment Courts Community of Practice and how to apply. Click below to view the webinar slides.

What you need to apply (two-part application):

• Part 1: Fill out the application for your adult drug or veterans treatment court.
• Part 2: All team members must fill out the brief readiness survey for the application to be considered complete.
  • Adult drug courts must include a copy of each team member’s completed survey, including the court coordinator, judge, community supervision, treatment provider, prosecution, defense counsel, and law enforcement (optional).
  • Veterans treatment courts must include a copy of each team member’s completed survey, including the court coordinator, judge, community supervision, treatment provider, prosecution, defense counsel, VJO specialist, mentor coordinator, and law enforcement (optional).

Applications will be accepted starting April 17, 2024. The application deadline is May 10, 2024. Accepted teams will be notified by May 24, 2024.

There is no cost to your jurisdiction to participate in the Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Treatment Courts Community of Practice. This program is supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Applications will be accepted starting April 17, 2024. The application deadline is May 6, 2024. Accepted teams will be notified by May 24, 2024.

Adult drug courts contact:
Joe Lunievicz, M.A., project director, Treatment Court Institute

Veterans treatment courts contact:
Marla Newby, Ph.D., project director, Justice for Vets