Many of you may recall that during the 2007 meeting of the Indiana Judicial Conference, the Chief Justice announced that the Court will be providing significant grants for court reform studies and education. This memo provides information about the grants and the application process.

Court Reform Grants. The Supreme Court’s designated programs include grants for court reform studies and judicial education.

The court reform studies target three areas:

1. Judicial district governance and court reform efforts
2. County level court reform and efficiency efforts and
3. Special program efficiency efforts

These grants will fund district and county level studies aimed at provoking reform, streamlining court operations, improving efficiency and ultimately improving access to justice.  The grants will be awarded through a grant application process whereby the courts in a county or a district would seek assistance for assessing their organization and also for helping implement recommended improvements.  The applicant courts would identify a particular problem they want to solve or reform they want to achieve (such as unifying their probation departments) or a general desire that the district/county would benefit from an objective assessment of the current organization, management, processes and implement best practices. The Division of State Court Administration will work with the grant recipients to select an organization that would perform the study and assist in the implementation.  We have already conducted preliminary discussions with the National Center for State Courts, an organization with extensive expertise in conducting court studies, although other entities will be considered and may be retained for the task. 

Although the exact annual amount of available grant funding cannot yet be determined, we anticipate that funding will be available for approximately 5 or so studies per year.  The initial study grants will be for up to $30,000.  Grants for implementation of the study recommendations will be for up to $40,000.

The judges in a district or county may apply for these grants by completing a letter of interest and an application. The project must engage the majority of judges in the district or county, and the key court staff.  Collaboration with and input from the local clerk and bar is strongly recommended.
Court Reform Grant Purpose Areas.  Since 1976, the Legislature has required that the state be divided into not less than eight districts.  IC 33-24-6-10.  Although Indiana has long had its 14 judicial districts, the judicial district unit has not been developed sufficiently and could benefit from successful, workable models. 

Thus, the judicial district grants will target programs that propose studying, recommending and implementing, on a district scale:

A.

1. Leadership/governance structure for the district, such as an executive committee, chief judge, professional court administrator, etc., with authority parameters and other incidents of governance.
   
   
2. A comprehensive and uniform personnel policy for court employees in the district, including factors such as standard job descriptions, recruitment, discipline and advancement policies.
   
   
3. A judicial resource management plan including factors such as transfer of judges and other judicial officers, elimination of the use of practicing lawyers as judges pro tem, sharing of staff, physical resources and facilities.
   
   
4. A program management plan for specific district programs such as the efficient delivery of indigent defense services, court interpreter services, gal/casa service, pro se and pro bono services, etc.
   
   
5. Implementation of all or part of CourtTools, a judicial performance evaluation system developed by the National Center for State Courts and being implemented in many states;
   
   
6. Development and implementation of a best practices manual or guidelines for defining and allocating functions among the court and clerk’s staffs.

B.        At the county level, court reform and efficiency grant will support projects as are set out above in items 2 to 6 for the district.  In addition, special focus will be given to the development of a single funding request for all the courts in the county. 

C.        The special program efficiency grants may be sought for single county, multi county or district level special programs that could benefit from reevaluation and restructuring. For instance, the following scenarios would be eligible for these grants:

• A district with heavy pro se caseload wants to organize and implement pro se help desks throughout the districts in cooperation with its local district pro bono committee.
• Several smaller counties want to establish a court interpreter program that’s managed centrally.
• A county with several courts but separate budgets and staff wants to find ways to share resources such as court reporters, probation staff, facilities, etc.

            The staff of the Division of State Court Administration will provide guidance and other assistance to prospective applicants in preparing letters of interest and the grant application.

Education Grants. The education grant program is geared to help judges and magistrates expand their professional development by attending seminars, conferences, meetings, or other programs that are not provided by the Indiana Judicial Center.

Although initially focused on the Judicial Conference members, we anticipate that, as more funds become available, we will consider education opportunities for all appointed judicial officers and for key court staff. 

Through this program the court will set aside approximately $120,000 each year for scholarship grants.  The grants will be awarded though a scholarship application process which will enable judges to attend sessions sponsored by pre-approved providers, such as the National Judicial College, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, American Bar Association, National Center for State Courts, National Association of Women Judges, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, American Judicature Society, American Law Institute, and the American Judges Association. 

Up to $3,000 per judicial officer would be available for a session at an 80/20% match.  This means that the scholarship will provide 80% of the cost of the program, and the applicant will have to provide the remaining 20%.  Interested applicants will have to complete an application for courses from pre-approved providers. 

In addition, scholarship grants will be available for attending meetings and conferences that are sponsored by other providers, if attendance would enhance the professional development of the applicant.  Once again, up to $3,000, at the 80/20% ratio, may be awarded to a judicial officer to attend one of these conferences.  Interested judicial officers would also need to apply for these discretional grants. 

Background of Grant Program Funds. The funds for these grants became available due to our successful efforts in claiming heretofore-unclaimed federal reimbursements for previously uncollected expenses associated with Title IV-D enforcement actions. 

Because the judicial and prosecutor payroll funds are now appropriated to the Supreme Court and administered by the Division of State Court Administration, federal law makes us the only ones eligible to seek reimbursement.

With the help of an independent contractor experienced in this field, the Division is now receiving reimbursement for Title IV-D expenses attributable to prosecutors’ and magistrates’ salaries and the administration of their payrolls.  In cooperation and with the approval of Department of Child Services, the Governor’s office, the State Budget Agency, and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council (IPAC), the net of the reimbursed funds will be shared 50/50 with IPAC and will be used for programs designated by the Supreme Court and IPAC in a management plan submitted to the Budget Agency.  The term of this arrangement is five years.

Attachment	Word	PDF
Application for Education Scholarship
Application for Education Scholarship (Fillable PDF) Fillable PDF documents can be electronically completed and then printed to be signed and mailed.	n/a
Application for Court Reform Grant
Application for Court Reform Grant (Fillable PDF) Fillable PDF documents can be electronically completed and then printed to be signed and mailed.	n/a