The Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC) Advisory Council, composed of rural judges along with additional stakeholders in the justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public health systems, has selected nine of the country’s most innovative rural justice programs to serve as models for other communities.1 The RJC initiative will provide resources to enable other communities to replicate these Innovation Sites’ successes. “Rural community leaders often don’t have the resources to develop programs from scratch, but we know that many rural justice leaders have found innovative solutions to their complex problems. Before this, there has been no nationally concerted effort for justice leaders and their collaborators in other sectors to share what they know. The Innovation Sites provide a framework that others can build from,” said Tara Kunkel, executive director of Rulo Strategies,2 which organized the RJC in partnership with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).3
Research shows rural Americans are more likely than urban residents to be jailed, to overdose, and to lack access to substance use and mental health care and public health services. Communities sometimes try to implement solutions that have worked in urban centers, but those are often unsuccessful. “The programs and methods developed from large courts are often not models for rural courts, because they do not always account for the geographic barriers in rural areas, or resonate with key aspects of rural culture,” said Jonathan Mattiello, executive director of the State Justice Institute (SJI).4
Over the next three years, the RJC will work with the Innovation Sites to create educational materials that will be featured in an online resource center. Thanks to funding from SJI, the Innovation Sites will also offer visits and participate in regional conferences. “The RJC will provide a vast knowledge pool filled with actionable content which individual communities may not have the resources to compile on their own,” said Kristina Bryant of NCSC, who helps coordinate the RJC. “These coaching and mentoring resources will allow rural community leaders to quickly get up to speed on promising and best practices and avoid missteps so they can launch their own successful initiatives.” The RJC will continue to identify additional Innovation Sites over the next two years.
Rural Justice Innovation Sites
These Innovation Sites work on solving problems, which range from providing substance use and mental health treatment for underserved communities to efforts that reduce the number of children in foster care.
South Carolina Victim Assistance Network Reaching Rural Initiative
The Reaching Rural Initiative provides resources to crime victims remotely and in their own communities via Victims’ Rights Centers.
Lazarus Recovery Services in North Carolina
This program of Project Lazarus provides prevention and recovery support services to justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders.
The Center for Empowering Victims of Gender-based Violence in Kansas
This research and collaboration center focuses on promoting the connection between social entrepreneurship and economic freedom for domestic violence and human-trafficking victims.
The Rural Attorney Recruitment Program in South Dakota
The Rural Attorney Recruitment Program recruits qualified attorneys to practice for five years in rural counties where older attorneys are retiring and there is an absence of individuals to provide legal services.
The Rural Incubator Project for Lawyers in Montana
This program provides a 24-month fellowship program that trains and supports attorneys to develop solo or small-firm practices that provide legal services to low-income Montanans in rural communities.
Texas Dispute Resolution System: Rural Mediation
Rural Texans benefit from this alternative dispute resolution system, which provides in-person and virtual mediation services.
Public Defender Corporation Recovery Coach Project in West Virginia
This project connects indigent criminal defendants with substance use disorders to certified peer recovery coaches, who arrange for substance use treatment opportunities immediately after a client is released from incarceration.
Scott County Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Team in Tennessee
This multiagency group provides various services and support to victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, human trafficking, and sexual assault.
Family Accountability and Recovery Court in North Carolina
Families involved in the child welfare system due to allegations of child abuse, neglect, or other parenting issues related to substance dependence find services in this program that facilitate holistic treatment.
For full descriptions of each program and information about nominating a program for consideration, visit www.ruraljusticecollaborative.org/innovation-sites.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laurie Monteforte is president and CEO of Strong Mountain Media, Inc.
- The RJC showcases the strengths of rural communities and highlights the cross-sector collaboration that is a hallmark of rural justice systems. The work under the RJC is supported by a cross-sector advisory council composed of rural judges along with additional stakeholders in the justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public health systems. The advisory council will guide the multiyear initiative and identify innovative programs and practices.
The RJC priority focus areas are:
- Increasing access to behavioral health treatment
- Reducing victimization
- Facilitating employment/educational opportunities for justice-involved individuals
- Eliminating barriers of access to justice
- Reducing incarceration
- Facilitating reentry
- Reducing the number of children in foster care due to substance use disorders
- Rulo Strategies is a woman-owned business focused on supporting and evaluating initiatives designed to foster collaboration between diverse stakeholders with distinct but complementary missions. Founder Tara Kunkel served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), where she advised on the policy direction of all opioid-related and overdose prevention initiatives. Learn more at rulostrategies.com.
- The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. Learn more at ncsc.org.
- The State Justice Institute (SJI) was established by federal law in 1984 to award grants to improve the quality of justice in state courts, and foster innovative, efficient solutions to common issues faced by all courts. SJI is a nonprofit corporation governed by an 11-member Board of Directors appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Learn more at www.sji.gov.
