Release Date: December 18, 2001	Release Number:  89

11 California Court Programs Win Top Awards

San Francisco—The Judicial Council of California today announced the recipients of the 2001 Ralph N. Kleps Awards for Improvement in Administration of the Courts, an annual awards program recognizing innovation in the state’s courts.

Selected from a field of 59 nominations, the council selected 11 exemplary programs for awards that will be presented next month at the California Judicial Administration Conference (CJAC), scheduled January 30–February 1 in San Francisco.

Created in 1991 in honor of Ralph N. Kleps, the first administrative director of the California courts, the awards are given in five categories, according to the number of authorized judicial positions in each group.  Programs nominated for the awards are judged on four criteria.  The programs must be:

• Innovative.
• Transferable to other courts.
• In operation for at least one year.
• An improvement in the administration of the courts and a reflection of the intent of at least one of the goals of the Judicial Council’s Long-Range Strategic Plan (access, fairness, and diversity; independence and accountability; modernization; quality of justice and service to the public; education; technology).

Appellate Court Outreach Program:  Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District
The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, includes 23 counties and covers the largest geographic area of all the appellate districts.  In order to enhance access to the court by those residing outside of Sacramento County, where the courtroom is located, and to effectively educate the residents of outlying counties regarding the appellate process, the court schedules two-day programs at local high schools.  On the first day, justices hold a question and answer session with students and teachers, followed by an evening event hosted by the local bar association where justices and court staff answer questions about court operations.  During the second day, a panel of justices conducts oral argument in actual cases at a local high school, with students, teachers, and the general public in attendance.

Unified Family In-Court Clinician:  Superior Court of Yolo County
The family in-court clinician is a therapist in private practice who works with the unified family court to help children who need mental health services as a consequence of the issues that bring their family into court.  The program was established by the Yolo County Department of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health through grant funding from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and CalWORKS.  Recognizing the need to provide therapeutic support to low-income families appearing in court, the clinician program addresses the counseling needs of the high percentage of “Welfare to Work” families.  Since the program’s inception in June 2000, the court has referred 107 families for services.

Children, Courts, and Arts Project:  Superior Court of Contra Costa County
The family and juvenile court facilities now display paintings, drawings, and written descriptions created by children who are the subjects of court proceedings.  There are 75 permanently fixed displays for rotating artistic presentations, which have been created by the children in the courts and arts project.  These artistic displays reflect both the hope and the pain children experience in proceedings associated with custody, dependency, and delinquency.

Court-Community Leadership and Liaison Program:  Superior Court of San Joaquin County
The Court-Community Leadership and Liaison Program is designed to provide the minority and disabled communities in San Joaquin County with representatives who can serve as liaisons with the courts.  Liaisons attend the court’s Leadership Academy, an intensive 12-week program involving one class per week taught by San Joaquin County judges and other justice system professionals.  Liaisons are responsible for answering questions concerning the justice system or for providing a contact within the system to get the question answered.  They also serve as representatives for their communities in quarterly meetings with courts to discuss court-related problems or concerns in their communities.

Homeless Court:  Superior Court of Ventura County
The Superior Court of Ventura County’s homeless court is a collaborative court and community program that provides an alternative sentencing mechanism for homeless individuals to resolve outstanding minor offenses through community service in lieu of fines. The program is unique in that it works in collaboration with a large number of social service agencies. Special court sessions are scheduled at various homeless advocacy locations geographically distributed throughout the areas of the county most  affected by homelessness. Mental health professionals operating under a grant originating from Assembly Bill 2034 assist the homeless court in providing special housing referrals and access to medication for those with mental health needs.

Find Arbitrator Mediator Electronically (FAME):  Superior Court of Los Angeles County
The Find Arbitrator Mediator Electronically (FAME) project evolved as a solution for providing alternative dispute resolution mediators and arbitrators, also known as “neutrals,” to the public in an efficient, fair, and technologically advanced manner. Through an automated selection process, individuals can review profiles of neutrals or randomly select them. It is no longer necessary for court clientele or staff to rely on paper documentation for the selection of neutrals.

Small Claims Electronic Filing Program:  Superior Court of Sacramento County
The small claims court in Sacramento County implemented a fully automated, paperless case program in 1997 that allows customers to create new case filings by answering a series of questions on computers located at the courthouse. This successful format was modified for the Internet e-filing program. Recognizing that Internet filers would not have access to the staff assistance and small claims legal advisor available at the courthouse, the court included in the program an extensive number of online “help” functions that address program usage, legal questions, and procedural guidance. The program can be accessed through the court’s Web site at www.saccourt.com.

F.O.C.U.S. Program—Monitoring Court Performance Using a Balanced Scorecard (Finances, Operations, Customers, and Use of Staff): Superior Court of San Diego County
Beginning in July 2000, the Superior Court of San Diego County instituted the F.O.C.U.S. (Finances, Operations, Customers, and Use of Staff) program. Rather than just monitoring traditional fiscal and operational goals, the F.O.C.U.S. program creates a formal and organized data collection and quarterly review process that also highlights numerous customer service and staffing performance measures in sufficient detail to identify progress, accomplishments, and/or areas for concern.  Trends can be identified and tracked, problems more quickly and easily identified, and corrective actions taken and monitored.

Juvenile Delinquency Domestic Violence/Family Violence Court:  Superior Court of Santa Clara County
The focus of domestic violence/family violence (DV/FV) court is to address the behavior of an abusive minor and to provide support for the victim. Minors are referred to DV/FV court by juvenile probation at the beginning of the case. Progress is monitored by frequent reviews. To support the court, juvenile probation established a specialized unit to investigate and intensely supervise minors charged with these acts—the unit provides specialized classes on domestic and family violence and assesses offenders for mental health issues. Victims are referred to domestic violence advocacy agencies for help with obtaining restraining orders and, if the victim has a child, help in establishing paternity, child support, and visitation or custody.

Internet/Intranet Systems:  Superior Courts of Sacramento and Amador Counties
The Superior Courts of Sacramento and Amador Counties’ Internet and Intranet project
aims to benefit the public and courts by making information available via the Internet. The Web sites provide more than a thousand pages of information, from recommendations on appropriate court apparel to child-care service and traffic tickets. While other courts have provided similar information, the use of standard templates, forms, and software packages provides a scalable process that allows the easy development of Web sites for both large and small courts.

Center Courts Regional Training Day:  Superior Courts of Stanislaus, San Benito, and Mariposa Counties
On Saturday, March 17, 2001, Saint Patrick’s Day, approximately 274 employees from 11 courts in Central California attended court-related training sessions at the California State University Stanislaus campus in Turlock.  The training day was dubbed “Operation Leprechaun.”  This was the first large-scale collaborative project of the Center Courts, a regional consortium of Central California trial courts.  Training grant funds received by the Superior Courts of Mariposa, San Benito, and Stanislaus Counties were pooled to help pay for the training sessions.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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