The SJI Board of Directors met virtually on April 27, 2020 to make decisions on quarterly grant applications, and approved a total of 21 new grants.
Four (4) Strategic Initiatives Grants were awarded: the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to support Phase II of the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators Mental Health Initiative; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFJC) to develop a National Bench Card Resource Center; and two SIG grants to the Utah Supreme Court to pilot the innovative Legal Services Oversight project, and in partnership with Pew, to assess the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform.
Four (4) Project Grants were awarded: The National Disability Rights Network, on behalf of the National Guardianship Network, to support the 4th National Guardianship Summit; the D.C. Court of Appeals for an organizational and management structure assessment; The Center for Court Innovation (CCI) for the Harlem Community Justice Center – Housing Help Center Community Project; and the NCSC to assist the Iowa and Kansas courts in planning for implementation of the Civil Case Management Team (CCMT) model.
Six (6) Technical Assistance Grants were awarded: the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts for a Recovery and Mental Health Oriented System of Care; the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) to evaluate estate administration in Washington, D.C.; the NCSC for a Cybersecurity in the Courts initiative; the Vermont Judiciary for an access and resource center planning project; the Montana Supreme Court for a district court workload assessment; and the 4th Judicial Circuit of Idaho for a comprehensive security assessment.
Eight (7) Curriculum Adaptation and Training (CAT) Grants were awarded: The NCSC and NCJFJC to build a replicable caseflow management curriculum for juvenile and family courts; the Colorado Judiciary for a language access outreach and interpreter recruitment initiative; the National Judicial College for a series of webinars on judicial ethics; the American Judges Association (AJA) for educational programming; the NCSC for a curriculum for presiding judges on leading change; the Wisconsin Office of Judicial Education for a faculty development workshop; and the Oregon Judiciary for training on handling criminal defendants who are unable to stand trial by reason of incapacity.
The next deadline for grant applications is August 1, 2020.