President’s Message

As new demands, challenges, and opportunities are presented within our court systems, we are reminded of the importance of effective partnerships. Now, more than ever, multi-organizational partnerships are an important means to develop and deliver needed programs and services. The National Association for Court Management (NACM) has long valued its partnerships with many organizations, such as the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), who share a vision to advance the effective and efficient administration of justice. Such partnerships are seen through collaborative efforts to find solutions to the widespread use of opioids and its devastating impact through the National Judicial Opioid Task Force (NJOTF) and through joint efforts to shape the national priority areas to improve the justice system response to mental illness through development of resources, best practices, and standards to build capacity to implement system reforms.

Recently, NACM was asked to participate with other court leaders in a comprehensive curriculum and program review with our partners from NCSC’s Institute for Court Management (ICM) and will participate in the revision of the Municipal Courts Resource Guide to assist municipal courts across the nation to promote the rule of law and the effective administration of justice in their courts and communities. This coming year, NACM will continue its collaboration with our partners to deliver additional programming, services, and opportunities that will benefit our members and the court community. Such efforts will include partners from the National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE), International Association for Court Administration (IACA), National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), Conference of Court Public Information Officers (CCPIO), and American University’s (AU) Justice Programs Office (JPO), to name just a few. A complete list of NACM’s partners is available on NACM’s website.

As this year ends, I want to share that NACM remains committed to our vision as the preferred source for education and innovative practices, and we hope you have taken advantage of the many exceptional educational opportunities and resources. Through NACM’s quarterly webinars, guides, and midyear and annual conferences, our goal is to provide professional development that inspires excellence in its membership, enhances public trust and confidence in our courts, and embraces the fundamental duties and responsibilities inherent in an accountable and independent judicial branch of government. We hope you can join us in Little Rock, Arkansas for our midyear conference, February 10-12, and our annual conference in Las Vegas, July 21-25, 2019. Registration for the midyear conference is now open, and planning for the annual conference is underway. Please be on the lookout for the call-for-proposal requests and consider submitting a proposal for a plenary or breakout session. Thank you for your continued support of the National Association for Court Management.