Diversity: Developing an institutional capacity for cultural sensitivity, developing strategies to increase
the availability of interpretation and other language
services to respond to the diversity of their communities, and helping courts become more reflective of their communities' diversity;

Emergency Management & Security: Planning, designing, and implementing responses to potential emergencies and threats to the security of court
facilities, court staff, and the public;

Family & Juvenile Justice: Establishing innovative policies and practices that promote informed decision-making and holistic, integrated family justice;

Pro Se/Pro Bono Services: Responding to the increasing numbers of pro se litigants seeking effective access to the courts; and

Sentencing Alternatives: Enhancing court knowledge of and confidence in using effective alternatives to incarceration

These topics were selected by the Advisory Committee based on an extensive review of the literature ad input from court leaders across the country.

Description of Each Topic Area

By clicking on an individual topic area, you will obtain answers to four questions:

1. What is covered under this topic? The Advisory Committee considered what was encompassed by each area and identified primary subtopics for each area.

2. Why is this a priority for courts? This section considers why courts should be concerned with implementing improvements in the area. What can courts do to improve their performance in this area?

3. How can courts address this issue? This section “walks” courts through a problem-solving process to identify their specific needs and potential solutions to address the needs. (See "Solutions Strategies" under each topic.)

4. Where can I find additional resources? This section provides additional resources of interest in the topic area and also links to the Contact Us page if courts have specific issues they want to discuss.

If your court has been doing work in one of these areas and has information we should know about, please Contact Us.

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