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| Release Date: January 31, 2002 | Release Number: 13 |
Selected from a field of 59 nominations, the council honored 11 programs that were presented at the California Judicial Administration Conference (CJAC), the annual meeting for court leaders being held this week 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:
Category 2: Counties with 5 to 14.9 AJPs
Appellate Court Outreach Program: Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District
In order to enhance access to and understanding of the justice system, the court schedules two-day programs at local high schools. These programs include question and answer sessions and oral argument in actual cases, 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.
Category 3: Counties with 15 to 49.9 AJPs
Children, Courts, and Arts Project: Superior Court of Contra Costa County
The family and juvenile court facilities have 75 permanently fixed displays for rotating artistic presentations containing paintings, drawings, and written descriptions created by children who are the subjects of court proceedings associated with custody, dependency, and delinquency.
Court-Community Leadership and Liaison Program: Superior Court of San Joaquin County
The program provides the minority and disabled communities in San Joaquin County with representatives who are responsible for answering questions concerning the justice system or for providing a contact within the system to get the questions 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 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. In addition, mental health professionals assist the homeless court in providing special housing referrals and access to medication for those with mental health needs.
Category 4: Counties with 50 or more AJPs
Find Arbitrator Mediator Electronically (FAME): Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Through an automated selection process, the court provides alternative dispute resolution mediators and arbitrators, also known as “neutrals,” to the public in an efficient, fair, and technologically advanced manner.
Small Claims Electronic Filing Program: Superior Court of Sacramento County
The court’s fully automated program, which allows customers to create new small claims case filings by answering a series of questions on computers located at the courthouse, was modified for the Internet, and now includes an extensive number of online “help” functions that address program usage, legal questions, and procedural guidance.
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
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.
Juvenile Delinquency Domestic Violence/Family Violence Court: Superior Court of Santa Clara County
The domestic violence/family violence (DV/FV) court addresses the behavior of abusive minors by investigating and intensely supervising them, providing specialized classes on domestic and family violence, and assessing offenders for mental health issues. The court also provides victim support by assisting them with obtaining restraining orders and, if the victim has a child, help in establishing paternity, child support, and visitation or custody.
Category 5: Cross-county projects that involve two or more counties
Internet/Intranet Systems: Superior Courts of Sacramento and Amador Counties
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 March 17, 2001, approximately 274 employees from 11 courts in Central
California attended court-related training sessions at the California State
University Stanislaus campus in Turlock, the first large-scale collaborative
project of the Center Courts, a regional consortium of Central California
trial courts.
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