The SJI Board of Directors met on June 29, 2015, at the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland to make decisions on quarterly grant applications and awarded a total of fifteen (15) new grants. The Board awarded a Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) to support Phase III of the Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative. With additional funding, the HT Collaborative will continue to provide resources, training, and technical assistance to the state courts on this critical issue.
Two (2) Project Grants were approved: the Hawaii Judiciary to complete a workload and workflow assessment of Court Operations staff; and, the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts to conduct the statewide Chief Justice’s 2015-2017 Multi-Disciplinary Study Commission.
Eight (8) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were approved, including: assistance to the NCSC to develop a peacemaking model in the state courts; a courthouse design project for the Mohave County Superior Court in Arizona; assistance to the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts for a statewide data repository project; funding to the Missouri Office of the State Courts Administrator to support a collection of best practices in municipal courts; a planning project for the Superior Court of Santa Barbara County, California; assistance to the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida for its Miami-Dade Civil Courthouse P3 Effective Solution; and, case management improvement projects for the 15th Judicial Circuit Magistrate’s Court in Florida and the Appellate Courts of the State of Washington.
Four (4) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were approved: support to the Virginia Supreme Court to deliver a workshop via distance learning; the 10thJudicial Circuit of Florida to deliver court communications programming to personnel; and, two grants to the National Judicial College (NJC) for development of two courses, including a web version of Taking the Bench: An Online Course for New Judges, and an advanced water rights course, Established Water Rights, Changing Conditions.