| Courts for Children and Families | Criminal Justice | Juvenile Justice | Mental Health Courts | Services for Self-Represented Litigants |
| Anderson Atascosa Tom Green Williamson |
Medina/Real/Uvalde Wharton |
City of Lubbock Royse City City of Temple |
Fannin Hill Taylor |
Bell Tom Green Victoria |
Courts for Children and Families
Anderson County
Team Members
Jeff Doran, Judge, County Court at Law; Elizabeth Attaway, County Court at Law Court Coordinator; Elizabeth Watkins, Asst. District Attorney; Lesley Bitz, CPS Supervisor; Tina Teetz, District Court Coordinator; Martin Lawrence, Attorney
Plan
- Fast tracking cases
- Less adversarial - program that parents can participate in for three months
- Concerns about attorney expense and training
- Concern that different judges handle cases differently
Status Update
The Anderson County summit team continues to follow the plan that was outlined during the Summit with good results. During the last two meetings of Anderson County judges, Judge Brendan Doran, Anderson County Court at Law Judge, explained the summit team's plan and offered to assist in implementing it in the other courts. Judge Doran has received reports that the Department of Family and Protective Services and the lawyers are bringing the attitudes of cooperative problem solving that the summit team has been fostering into cases in the other courts with some improved results. The local Investigative Supervisor and new Conservatorship Supervisor are planning a local training and Judge Doran has asked that the District Attorney's office and local lawyers be included in the planning and implementation of the training.
Atascosa County
Team Members
Diana Bautista, County Judge; Tom Lee, Visiting Judge; Melissa Uram-Degerolami, DFPS Attorney; Norma Villanueva, Deputy District Clerk; De'Ann Belicek, Court Coordinator, 81st and 218th District Courts
Plan
- Challenges with transition from cluster court
- Support from OCA for training on CPCMS
- Give judges updated Family Code
- Follow-up with judges on how it is working
- Monitor statistics
Status Update
Atascosa County continues its transition from being served by a child protection specialty court to hearing child protection cases independently, at the county level. Judge Tom Lee began hearing cases in January, with administrative assistance from Court Coordinator De'Ann Belicek. Atascosa County became one of the first independent counties to utilize the child protection case management system (CPCMS) developed by OCA. In April, Tim Kennedy from OCA trained both Judge Lee and Ms. Belicek on CPCMS, and OCA has been available for ongoing technical support. In follow-ups after training, Judge Lee expressed satisfaction with the system and its ability to aid the judge by highlighting issues that might otherwise stall a case, but identified some concerns about whether the next judge assigned to the child protection docket would be able to maintain the data entry requirements without more administrative assistance. Judge Lee purchased a Family Code. By using CPCMS, Atascosa County now has access to a large number of outcome measure and workload reports, which allow the county to monitor its outcomes and statistics in real time.
Tom Green County
Team Members
Ben Woodward, Judge, 119th District Court; Jay Weatherby, Judge, 340th District Court; Sheri Woodfin, District Clerk; Belinda Fernandez, Court Administrator, 119th District Court
Plan
Related to CPS cases, Tom Green County discussed the need for attorney assistance. Currently, attorneys travel across a few counties; limiting their availability to be in Tom Green County to hear cases and extending time frames beyond the 12-month statutory deadline. Melissa Cook, Texas Access to Justice Commission, provided information about how the Office of Parental Representation in Travis County uses a social worker to assist and advocate for parents. The team thought either a paraprofessional (Experienced Parent Mentor) or a social work student might be able to assist attorneys in keeping track of clients, helping clients manage the many appointments they have, and understanding the system. In order to explore this idea further they discussed the following next steps.
- Get information from the Supreme Court Commission on the Offices of Children's and Parental Representation; specifically Judge Weatherby was interested in a recently completed evaluation of the offices.
- Meet with Department Director/Chairs at San Angelo State to discuss internships for social work students.
- Contact Mia Sneed, Travis County Office of Parental Representation, to get the calendar and packet that she provides parents with at the outset of a case.
- Explore grant opportunities to fund attorney offices or other programs/professionals.
Status Update
Judge Woodward has contacted President Joseph Rallo of Angelo State University (ASU) and the Chair of the Sociology Department. They are very interested in working with the court on this project, but have not yet found a time when all parties can meet. The Tom Green CPS summit team has discussed and explored grant opportunities to fund the program; however, the team needs to get a better handle on what the program will look like. They decided early on that the Parent Mentor needs to be separate and apart from the courts and the county. Judge Weatherby has approached one of the local nonprofit groups (an umbrella organization for several organizations dealing with children and families) and they had several concerns about including this service under their "umbrella." He believes that the best option would be to work out something with ASU, as it would simplify both the organizational and funding issues. The summit team is committed to getting this program up and running and will continue working towards that end.
Williamson County
Team Members
Suzanne Brooks, Judge, County Court at Law; Judge Mark Silverstone, Judge, 425th District Court; Kim Gibbons, Program Director, DFPS; Alice Emerson, Assistant County Attorney
Plan
Recently, the judges of Williamson County unanimously agreed to reduce the number of courts that handle cases filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services from six to three. As the population has increased in Williamson County over the last decade, so has the case filings involving abuse or neglect of children. To accomplish this end, new cases are filed randomly in three courts while pending cases have been transferred from the three county courts being eliminated from the rotation to one county court. The benefits derived from this reallocation are fewer court settings in multiple courts; less court time caseworkers must spend in court; consistency in terms of court orders and service plans for parents; consistency in expectations for attorneys, caseworkers and parents; promotes regular and consistent review of permanency plans for the child(ren) and promotes family/child friendly courts to assist parents and families with building healthy relationships and lifestyles.
Following the Shared Solutions Summit, members of the Williamson County team determined the following action items would be pursued:
- At each court setting, review with parents what specific impediments they may have to participating in the service plan. For example, if lack of transportation from a rural part of the county to another area to attend therapy appointments is an issue, collaborate with local nonprofits to determine if resources are available.
- Department to provide accurate statistics for parents that reside in more rural areas of county to determine if it may be cost-effective to bring a therapist to a satellite office one or two days a week to provide counseling services.
- At each hearing, the caseworker will be available to spend time with each parent and assist with scheduling intake appointments for services. The caseworker will provide to each parent a written resource form that includes names, addresses and phone numbers for each type of service provider referenced in the service plan and/or court orders.
- Each court to provide space for caseworkers and attorneys to obtain forms or other documents needed for parents to obtain social services through different county agencies and nonprofit agencies. Consider having resource forms in District Clerk's office and the County law library. Often times the only contact a caseworker or attorney for the parent may have with them is at the court setting therefore having all resource forms available at the courthouse would significantly increase the parent's ability to obtain appropriate services.
Status Update
The courts that primarily hear cases filed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services are County-Court-at-Law 1; 395th Judicial District Court and 425th Judicial District Court. The reduction of the number of courts hearing these types of cases has significantly decreased the amount of time caseworkers spend in court and promotes more consistency in the court orders and service plans for parents.
The caseworkers have changed the format of their court reports to provide more thorough and detailed information to the courts about specific attempts to locate family for potential placements, the parent's service plan requirements, the reason(s) for noncompliance and pertinent information about the child(ren).
The Program Director with TDFPS reviewed the need for therapists to meet with parents off-site who reside in rural areas of the county. The Program Director or her designee will continue to assess the need for this service.
The CASA program in Williamson County is growing and maturing, which has led to an increase in CASA appointments for children in care of the Department.
Caseworkers are meeting with parents at court hearings to provide written resource forms to them that include address and phone numbers for the following: AA/NA meetings, alcohol and drug evaluators and service providers, therapists, psychological evaluators, psycho-social evaluators, psychiatric evaluators, basic and protective parenting classes, anger management and batter's intervention classes, domestic violence classes, sex offender treatment, public housing programs and employment resources.
Standardized docket control orders have been prepared and distributed among courts, along with general timeframes to promote a final disposition in twelve months.
Status and permanency hearings are being expedited to promote constant review and compliance with service plan requirements by parents and to assess whether the placement of the children is the most appropriate placement available.
The Program Director held an internal round table review of cases where children are in PMC of the TDFPS to determine what alternatives are available. Present at the staffing were representatives from the Department, Casey Foundation and attorneys for the Department.
There have been significant changes in the local Department program staff, most notably the Program Director. Due to these changes, there will be ongoing collaboration between the Courts and the Department to ensure continuing progress with the action plan.
Criminal Justice
Medina, Real, and Uvalde Counties
Team Members
Camille DuBose, Judge, 38th District Court; Garry Merritt, Real County Judge; Danny Kindred, District Attorney, 38th Judicial District; Cindy Fowler, Medina District Clerk; Christine Ovalle, Uvalde District Clerk; Vivian Torres, Judge, Medina County Court at Law; Shanna Curiel, Medina County Court at Law Court Coordinator; Lela Ballesteros, 38th District Court Coordinator; Debbie Keller, Medina Indigent Defense Coordinator
Plan
REDUCING PRE-TRIAL DETENTION RATES
- Regional Magistration System is to be implemented to include recommended Bond parameters and pre-trial release conditions.
- Expand Pre-Trial Release services.
- Expand into digital direct filing between law enforcement and District Attorney.
- Create a Criminal Justice Task Force to convene and further refine and implement indigent defense, pre-trial services and cost saving measures related thereto.
Status Update
The 38th Judicial District has contracted with outside vendors to perform an in-depth analysis of its indigent defense system to come up with recommendations with regard to indigent defense, bond parameters and pre-trial release programs and services. Information is currently being gathered in that regard with anticipated initiation of on-site evaluation commencing in June 2012.
Wharton County
Team Members
Phillip Spenrath, County Judge; Randy Clapp, Judge, 329th District Court; Trey Maffett, County Attorney; Roxanne Marek, Chief Probation Officer; Ray Kerlick, Attorney; Cassie Ritter, Indigent Defense Coordinator
Plan
- Make systerm more efficient
- Reduce population
- Begin collecting data
- Take control of dockets
- Getting information and solutions with others
Status Update
The first stakeholders meeting was held on February 3rd, which included the county judge, district judge, district attorney, county attorney, probation chief, defense attorney, jail superintendent, and court coordinator. They initially focused on data collection by reviewing the worksheet that was provided to the team prior to the summit and by making assignments to gather many of the remaining elements for future discussions. They also established a process for the district attorney to routinely share with the judges a jail list and the status of each inmate's case. The district judge, district attorney and probation chief have all been speaking to their counterparts in other areas to gather information on establishing a pre-trial release program. The last few meetings were canceled due to the unavailability of several of the stakeholders. They are in the process of improving scheduling to increase attendance.
Juvenile Justice
In the last decade, municipal and justice courts (local trial courts of limited jurisdiction) have become the primary venue for adjudicating criminal offenses committed by children. Such offenses primarily consist of Class C Misdemeanor status offenses (e.g., underage possession of alcohol, underage possession of tobacco, and failure to attend school) and disruptive behavior (e.g., disorderly conduct, disruption of class, and disruption of transportation). The escalating number of cases filed in local trial courts consumes substantial judicial resources and, debatably, stigmatizes youthful defendants, many of whom are already "at risk". Unlike children in juvenile court, children in local trial courts rarely have the assistance of counsel and potentially face the imposition of high fines and permanent criminal records. Delegations consisting primarily of municipal court personnel from three different regions of the state were invited to S3 by the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center (TMCEC) to formulate, focus and refine local plans and initiatives aimed at decreasing the number of children being criminally adjudicated in local trial courts.
City of Lubbock
Team Members
Judge Jan Blacklock Matthews, Presiding Judge, Wilson Municipal Court; Judge Jean Anne Stratton, JP Prec. 4 Pl 1, Lubbock County; Crystal Collins, Assistant Director for Service Delivery, Lubbock Office of Dispute Resolution; Gene Valentini, Executive Director, Lubbock Office of Dispute Resolution; Judge Tim Green, Presiding Judge, Big Spring Municipal Court
Plan
The City of Lubbock and Lubbock County are negotiating the details of an interlocal agreement to operate a Juvenile Case Management (JCM) program through the Texas Dispute Resolution Center in Lubbock. This city-county partnership with the Dispute Resolution Center will provide JCM services to children facing criminal charges in justice courts in Lubbock County and in the Lubbock Municipal Court. Big Spring Municipal Court was also invited to explore the possibility of how such services can potentially be shared with rural municipal courts in the west Texas region.
Status Update
As of May 7, 2012 the terms of an interlocal agreement between the City of Lubbock and Lubbock County are still being negotiated. The District Attorney's Office (Civil Division) for Lubbock County has interpreted the statute to say that a joint project between the City and the County is not an option because the same entity that is collecting the fee must be the entity that is employing the JCM. Currently, the City of Lubbock is continuing to work with the District Attorney's Office to determine if there are other options, but it looks like the only way to resolve the issue may be to propose legislative changes to clarify that a "shared solution" is indeed an option.
Royse City
Team Members
Judge Bonnie Goldstein, Presiding Judge, Royse City Municipal Court; Jason Day, Prosecutor, Royse City; Judge Pamela Liston, Associate Judge, Rowlett Municipal Court; Deborah Jessup, Director of Court Services, Balch Springs Municipal Court; Dana Huffman, Presiding Judge, Balch Spring Municipal Court
Plan
Royse City is collaborating with Leadership Rockwall County to create a teen court program which will give minors between the ages of 10 and 17 a chance to avoid the imposition of a final conviction in municipal court. With the support of the public sector non-profits and municipal courts, Royse City is exploring the possibility of strategic partnerships with the City of Princeton and the City of Rowlett.
Status Update
On May 1, 2012, Royse City successfully completed its plan to collaborate with Leadership Rockwall County to create a teen court program. Although presently there are no plans for further expansion, Royse City shall continue to explore the possibility of expanding the teen court program to include participation by the City of Princeton and the City of Rowlett.
City of Temple
Team Members
Judge Kathleen Person, Presiding Judge, Temple Municipal Court; Dana Karl, Clerk, Temple Municipal Court; Yolanda Gonzales, Juvenile Case Manager, City of Temple; Dawn Owen, Juvenile Probation Officer, Bell County; Nan Rodriguez, Deputy City Attorney, Temple; Shirmira Brandiberg, Community Liaison Specialist for Safe Schools
Plan
In Central Texas, the City of Temple and the Temple Municipal Court are similarly attempting to reduce recidivism among status offender and referrals to local trial courts through the implementation of a juvenile case manager (JCM) program. JCM programs are relatively new in Texas. JCM programs aim to reduce juvenile crime by serving as a case manager, compliance officer, and court clerk in cases pertaining to juveniles. The City of Temple and the Temple Municipal Court are working to implement a JCM program though collaboration with the Bell County Juvenile Probation Services and the Temple ISD.
Update
On April 13, 2012, the City of Temple successfully completed its plan to implement a JCM program. The program is operated by the municipality in collaboration with Temple ISD. JCM training is being provided in conjunction with Bell County Juvenile Probation Services.
Mental Health Courts
- Match Between DSHS Mental Health Clients and TDCJ Clients for Fannin, Hill, and Taylor Counties
- Mental Health Data Provided by Teams Focusing on Mental Health Courts
Fannin County
Team Members
Creta (Spanky) Carter, County Judge; Laurine Blake, Judge, 336th District Court; Nancy Young, District Clerk; Debra Roberts, Chief CSCD Officer; Richard Glaser, District Attorney; Michael Evans, Attorney
Plan
- Communicate with Sheriff's Office to ensure jail is performing the criminal history check at time of book-in so that any previous mental health clients are "flagged" and the proper court notified that the offender is in jail so that within the 72 hours that the offender is incarcerated, court can take appropriate action to release offender with conditions to include mental health services.
- Frequency of meetings before the judge.
- Increase amount of time judge visits with offender during court appearance.
- Scrutinize needs of offender with mental health illness without automatically excluding from consideration due to nature of offense.
- Continue to build resources in community to better service the mentally ill. This includes collaborating with current providers of services for the mentally ill.
- Continue to seek funding sources to augment local services, including appropriate number of probation officers, treatment services, training for team members, etc.
Status Update
This issue was addressed at a Criminal Justice Committee meeting around March - April 2012 and the Sheriff indicated he would follow up on the issue. Judge Blake also met with Sheriff and Jail Warden on another occasion and learned the Jail Warden was aware of ability to check mental health history. Legal requirements were discussed, and the Sheriff and Jail Warden indicated they would follow-up on the issue. To date, additional information is not available and the issue needs to be pursued. Suggested additional action includes reducing to writing a protocol and plan of action that complies with law on this issue.
The Judge has implemented twice monthly, in-court meetings with mental health court probationers. The increased visits have created more accountability for probationers, as well as more timely responses to probationer conduct, positive and negative. Anecdotally speaking, compliance with conditions of probation and success overall for probationers is improved.
The Judge has implemented a practice of spending at least 3 minutes per probationer during court reports to receive updates directly from the probationer and interaction with the Court. This practice has been incorporated as a standard of conduct for Judge in Mental Health Court.
The Mental Health Court Team continues to actively review prospective participants for the program. Previously, funding sources for mental health treatment excluded from consideration into the program probationers with assaultive offense or assaultive prior criminal record. Probation Department is presently funded by CJAD only, and therefore no exclusion of assaultive offenders in program. Inclusion of probationers who may have some assaultive history will be considered on a case by case basis for appropriateness. These efforts should increase the number of program participants to 12-18. It should be noted that the only "case manager" handling the Mental Health Court docket is a probation officer with a full caseload of probationers.
The Fannin County Mental Health Court Team learned of a couple of resources that were previously existing, but unknown to the team, including S.C.O.R.E program administered in Collin County but available to Fannin County. The program is not specific to Mentally Ill Probationers, but does not automatically exclude this category of probationer. S.C.O.R.E. does exclude offenders with assaultive criminal history.
Secondly, D.A.P.A is an outreach program based out of Dallas County that provides counseling and treatment opportunities with a housing program component located in Harris County which will assist in placing homeless, mentally ill probationers from Fannin County. Limits on this program include exclusion of violent offenders, offenders with substance abuse problems, and sex offenders. Though the program will be limited in availability, it is a new option to be used in an appropriate situation.
Cultivating a current community support, the Veteran's Administration recently assigned a Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist, Melissa Kale, LCSW to the Mental Health Court. Though a previous representative from the VA was involved, her time became limited to her volunteering time over lunch break. The new representative will transition into our Mental Health Court as part of her job duties.
One request for funding is pending from Probation Department to CJAD specifically for Mental Health Court. A similar request has been submitted to CJAD three (3) previous years and denied. Probation reports that due to funding cuts, they anticipate CJAD will again deny the requested Mental Health Court funding.
Investigation of funding through TCOG (Texoma Council of Governments) was completed by Probation Department without success. Any available grant opportunities were either expired, or too soon to meaningfully complete the grant request. Additionally, funding in the past through TCOG has been "competitive" as between Cooke, Fannin, and Grayson Counties. Because Grayson County is larger, they have more votes to apply to the funding requests, resulting in Grayson County receiving more funds granted.
Training for the Mental Health Court Team was held on May 21, 2012. The training entailed observation of another Mental Health Court Team, 291st District Judge Susan Hawk and team in action, followed-up with an opportunity for the counterparts to converse and share ideas and information. The Fannin County Mental Health Court Team traveled from Bonham to Dallas, Texas.
Additional Status Update Information on Items Not in Original Plan
The Fannin County Criminal District Attorney Richard Glaser agreed to assign a full-time prosecutor to the Mental Health Court Team. Previously, an Assistant Criminal District Attorney was assigned, but his work load precluded consistent attendance. The newly assigned prosecutor has embraced the opportunity and is learning the ropes.
A meeting by Judge Blake and the local bar association occurred where a participant's handbook for Drug Court was distributed to Defense Attorneys serving on the Court appointed wheel. The Drug Court participant's handbook is the model for the mental health court. Efforts need to be made to adapt the handbook for mental health court clients.
Hill County
Team Members
Bob McGregor, Judge, 66th District Court; Justin Lewis, County Judge; David Holmes, Assistant County Attorney; Dan V. Dent, District Attorney; Deborah Pruitt, APO Chief/Courts Director
Plan
- Expand existing admonishment docket
- Explore teaming with surrounding counties
- 40% of Hill County inmates have mental health issues
- Check with TLETS on incoming inmates - improve this
- Get better handle on 72-hour requirement
Status Update
Hill County has adapted their admonishment docket to utilize several of the features learned about at drug court training and find that it works well. The county IT department will be working to utilize the Tannenberg video conferencing system to establish connectivity between Hill County and state hospitals. TLETS-Carematch has already resulted in several "hits" being brought to the judge's attention. Local movement or support to establish a separate drug court has not yet evidenced. Hill County held a regional cooperative meeting with Waco and other area MHMR officials and delays for placement have decreased and bond release programs have been enhanced. Conditions of release bonds to better utilize MHMR and other mental health resources are often now used.
Taylor County
Team Members
Downing Bolls, County Judge; Etta Warman, Assistant District Attorney
Plan
Taylor County currently does not have a mental health court. Because the volume of mental health cases is increasing in our county, we will work to determine if we have sufficient cause to merit such a court and to determine the costs of actually setting up such a court. This analysis will involve meeting with the mental health authority and related stakeholders; setting up a local mental health court summit; and conducting fact-finding visits.
Status Update
Judge Downing Bolls has met with Theron Cole with the Mental Health Association, Mike Wolfe with Community Corrections, and County Commissioner Stan Egger to discuss the mental health court concept and whether the county has ever considered something like that. Judge Bolls would like to hold a large meeting of stakeholders at some point in the future, but so far there is not much interest. It should be noted that Taylor County currently has jail diversion and other programs in place that accomplish the same ends as mental health courts.
Services for Self-Represented Litigants
Bell County
Team Members
Rick Morris, Judge, 146th District Court; Gordon Adams, Judge, 169th District Court; Shelia Norman, District Clerk; Joanna Staton, Court Coordinator, 146th District Court
Plan
- High volume of cases with large military population - want fast divorces
- 2010 - 45% divorces are pro se; 2011 - 52%
- Shared solutions from Lubbock
- Self-help video tailored to Bell County
- Make referrals to Texas Law Help automated forms - put in SRL resource room at courthouse
- Use students and volunteers to assist SRLs
- Explore having dedicated docket
Status Update
One of the most useful tools from the Summit was learning that TEXASLAWHELP.ORG was available for the deputy district clerks to use to refer SRLs. We are steadily referring SRL callers and walk-in SRL individuals to the website. The website has allowed us to provide assistance to the sometimes frustrated SRL. We also posted the TEXASLAWHELP.ORG website on the Bell County District Clerk website and in our SRL service area.
Our district courts do have a dedicated date and time for SRLs and a clinic for SRLs where Lone Star Legal Aid reviews the SRL documents before going to court. In the future, we would like to provide a self-help video for SRLs much like Lubbock County.
Tom Green County
Team Members
Ben Woodward, Judge, 119th District Court; Jay Weatherby, Judge, 340th District Court; Sheri Woodfin, District Clerk; Belinda Fernandez, Court Administrator, 119th District Court
Plan
- Training on information vs. advice
- Look at Bell County forms and processes
- Tech Law School clinic help with pro se litigants in Tom Green
Status Update
Kate Bond, Office of Court Administration, and Hannah Silk Kapasi, Texas Access to Justice Commission, are traveling to Tom Green County on June 6, 2012 to provide training to clerks and court coordinators on information vs. advice, and to speak to judges and attorneys about pro se innovations, including limited scope representation.
Victoria County
Team Members
Laura Weiser, Judge, County Court at Law; Cathy Stuart, District Clerk; Becky Wade, Deputy District Clerk; Constance Johnson, Attorney; Jim Cole, Attorney
Plan and Status Update
During the Summit, Judge Laura Weiser, the team leader, had to unexpectedly leave due to an emergency. Katie Bond, Office of Court Administration, and Hannah Silk Karasi, Texas Access to Justice Commission, are traveling to Victoria County on June 29, 2012, to participate in a SRL planning meeting.
This project was developed under Grant Number SJI-11-N-178 from the State Justice Institute. The points of view expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute.
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Updated: 19-Jul-2012
