Message from the Director
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It is with great pleasure that I write to introduce you to the newest member of the JPO team,
Dr. Julie Marie Baldwin
. Julie is JPO’s first Associate Director of Research, and she will be heading up our research division, focusing initially on problem-solving courts, including veterans and juvenile treatment courts, racial disparities in drug courts, and our work to ensure the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Julie and the JPO team will conduct research on emerging issues in criminal justice, filling gaps in research. Julie is full of energy and ideas, and she’ll develop resources for practitioners, translating technical research journals into materials that practitioners understand and can use. I’ve worked with a lot of researchers, and Julie is the best at translational research.
Julie comes to us from Missouri State where she was an assistant professor of criminology. She has served as a research consultant on evaluations of specialized courts and public safety and has published numerous research articles in highly-ranked journals, as well as produced practitioner-focused reports. Julie conducts translational research utilizing mixed methods and specializes in program evaluation and researcher-practitioner partnerships. Her research often addresses the intersections of courts, public health, policy, and law and society, and she is a nationally recognized expert on veterans treatment courts. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminology, Law & Society from the University of Florida in 2013. Prior to her doctoral program, she was a court analyst for the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division (2008-2009) and a paralegal and FOIL administrator for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office Appeals Bureau (2007-2008).
I’m so happy she’s joining JPO. Please join me in welcoming Julie.
I’m also excited to announce that
Alex Gamcsik
has been promoted to JPO Office Coordinator. Alex has moved up the ranks in JPO at lighting speed. He
started with us in 2017 as a temporary staffer while in his last year of graduate school and then accepted a full-time position as our Administrative Assistant. Now after just nine months he has accepted his second promotion. We are a very lucky team to have Alex as our Office Coordinator. He makes sure JPO runs like a well-oiled machine. He has exceptional customer service skills and is always one step ahead of us when it comes to planning and preparing for conferences; he anticipates every detail and ensures our events run smoothly.
Alex also filled in as a budget coordinator for a few months and managed expenses and vouchers for five grants. He graduated from American University's School of Public Affairs this May with a Master of Public Policy. His BA is also from American University in political science with a minor in finance. Before working at JPO, he worked at Capitol Inquiry, Inc. as a bookkeeper, managing bank accounts and multiple administrative projects. He also worked at the American College of Cardiology as a data analyst doing quantitative and qualitative analysis using Excel datasets.
Thank you, Alex, and congratulations on the promotion!
Director Kim Ball, Esq.
Justice Programs Office
American University
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NDCRC Webinar on Law Enforcement and Treatment Courts
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Law enforcement is often the first point of contact Americans have with the justice system. For those at risk of substance dependence, this can be a key interaction affecting future treatment. Approximately 1.5 million individuals arrested each year are at such a risk, and our
National Drug Resource Center
is hosting a webinar
Wednesday, June 13, 2018,
from
2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT
to examine how law enforcement can be an integral tool in treatment courts' efforts.
"To Serve, Protect, and Treat: Law Enforcement and Treatment Courts"
brings together practitioners and experts to discuss ways to partner with local law enforcement and engage them in the treatment court process. This means not only educating them about how treatment courts operate but giving them the tools to advocate for these programs every day in the field to those who need them.
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Right to Counsel Webinar on Tech Innovations in Criminal Justice
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Criminal court can be overwhelming and confusing to navigate for people facing criminal charges. While our modern lives are increasingly dependent on technological advancements, local criminal courts are sometimes stalled in the advancement process. The
Right to Counsel National Campaign
is hosting a webinar
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
from
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT
to talk with some enterprising startups utilizing technology to ensure that clients and attorneys can better navigate the criminal court process.
During "
Real Talk: Technological Innovations in Criminal Justice
," Zoë Root will moderate a conversation between
Gabriel Leader-Rose
and
Jelani Anglin
, Co-Executive Directors of Good Call, and
Jacob Sills
, the CEO of Uptrust. Two startups working to revolutionize the way attorneys and clients interact with the court system. The panel will explore the impact of each organization’s innovations, the principles of fairness and compassion that underlie their efforts, and the work still to be done to assist the lives of those charged in criminal court.
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One Person Can Change the World
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On June 6, 1968 Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles while campaigning for the presidency. Fifty years later, RFK's commitment to righting injustices and understanding the plight of others serves as a reminder to all of us involved in reform, proving that even one person can truly change the world.
JPO's Executive Director
Kim Ball
reflects on the legacy of RFK, his mission, and how to use the experience of adversity as a tool for change in her latest post in the JPO blog.
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JPO Looks Back at National Drug Court Month
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May was National Drug Court Month, an opportunity for the treatment court field
—
professionals, organizations, and allies
—
to raise awareness about the meaningful and positive impact of treatment courts on our communities. We celebrated all month long on social media and our blog, and we welcomed three treatment court practitioners as guest writers who shared their expertise and perspectives from the field.
Click on the links below to read their stories and see how treatment courts are creating positive outcomes across the United States.
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Jeffrey Kushner, MPHA, the Statewide Drug Court Administrator for the State of Montana begins our guest columnist series examining the important partnership between treatment providers and drug court teams.
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Angela Plunkett, Statewide Drug Court Coordinator for the State of Missouri, finishes our guest series with her personal journey from a tough-as-nails parole officer to becoming a drug court advocate and statewide coordinator.
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Drug Court Review Call for Papers
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The
Drug Court Review
is now accepting articles for an upcoming issue focusing on innovative treatments and approaches employed by specialized court programs to address the underlying issues of criminal justice involvement.
Changes in the fields of criminal justice, mental and behavioral health, medicine, and technology, as well as shifting trends in social problems highlight the need for treatment court programs to also evolve in their responses. As such, topics of particular interest to this issue of
Drug Court Review
include, but are not limited to:
- Family-centered approaches
- Evidence-based treatment
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
- Inter-tribal and/or multi-jurisdictional transfers
- Rapid responses or immediate linkages to treatment
- New/promising treatment modalities or program structures
Submissions are due
July 31, 2018
, and publication is expected in December 2018.
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