Leadership Guide to Statewide Court and Community Collaboration

• NCJ Number: 196665
• Author(s): David Rottman; Hillery Efkeman; Randall Hansen; Shelley Stump
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 127 pages
• Grant Number(s): 94-DD-CX-0017
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for State Courts
• Sale Source: National Ctr for State Courts
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This leadership guide -- which is intended primarily for State chief justices, other State supreme court justices, judicial council members, and State court administrators -- provides guidelines to those considering and experimenting with statewide local collaborations between courts and communities.

Abstract

Since 1994, the National Center for State Courts, with funding from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, has been administering the Community-Focused Court Initiative. This project has sought to strengthen court and community relationships by identifying existing models of collaboration between courts and the public; identifying the critical elements of successful collaboration; developing new strategies for enhancing court and community relations; and disseminating what is learned to those who work in the Nation's State courts. This effort has determined that State-level court leaders can play a vital role in supporting and guiding the future of such collaboration. Specifically, a State role is essential if successful collaborations in one local jurisdiction are to be replicated in other jurisdictions within the State. The purpose of this guide is to pass on lessons about what court and community collaborations can achieve and how they can be established and nurtured. The lessons were drawn from the detailed study of eight innovative court and community efforts, as analyzed and refined through the deliberations of an advisory committee and discussions at three national meetings of judges, court managers, and citizen activists. The first chapter reviews the promise and practice of collaboration, with attention to the core elements of collaboration, along with programmatic and systemic collaboration. The second chapter profiles four programs of collaboration in practice, followed by an overview of some of the barriers and strategies associated with successful collaboration. The third chapter profiles the state-of-the-art in State-initiated and State-sponsored collaborations, followed by a chapter on lessons in how to plan and sustain collaboration initiatives. The concluding chapter discusses the future of State court and community collaboration initiatives. 47 references