Julie Whitman, Executive Director | Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana
An adult with a serious mental illness or an intellectual disability, who has been accused of a crime, may be found incompetent to stand trial and may receive services to attain competency. But when it comes to juveniles and the delinquency court, Indiana has not had a clear process for determining a child’s competency to […]
Please save the date for an event to learn more about Indiana’s My Healthy Baby initiative, which will be launching in Brown, Monroe, and Owen Counties in January 2022. We will be providing an overview of the program and will outline how you can help achieve the goal of saving at least 200 babies a […]
Judge Kimberly S. Dowling | Delaware Circuit Court 2
In 2021, the Indiana Supreme Court created the Civil Litigation Taskforce as part of the Indiana Innovation Initiative. The Taskforce includes attorneys and judges from around the state and is chaired by attorney Steven Badger of Barnes and Thornburg. The Court directed the Taskforce to focus on improving civil litigation procedures and case management. Subcommittees […]
“What we say within a group, the ideas we suggest, and the way we support others, signals something about who we are to our coworkers. It can attract people to us or repel them,” says Melissa Chamberlin, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, and coauthor of a paper on the topic […]
This report is the 29th in a series that began in 1981. It includes characteristics of the population such as sex, race or ethnicity, and most serious offense of adult U.S. residents under correctional supervision in the community. The report details how people move onto and off community supervision, such as completing their term of […]
John McGauley, Court Administrator | Allen Superior Court
For Indiana courts, the COVID-19 pandemic meant an unprecedented time of change and challenge. When the time came to rethink the way in which it did business, Allen Superior Court found an opportunity amidst the turmoil. In the summer of 2021, after months of research, the Court launched a program to find former property owners […]
A year after a state task force was created to improve Indiana’s juvenile justice system, recommendations for change are now headed to lawmakers. Tuesday the Indiana Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force endorsed a broad range of proposals that would establish statewide norms and tweak parts of the complex laws for how courts and law enforcement interact with […]
This article is a subsection of Chapter 2 of the Supervision section from the Probation and Pretrial Services Article from the United States Courts web page. Indiana is focusing hard on the Evidence based practices but at the same time it seems like many departments are dropping the home visit portion of supervision. I am […]
You are welcome to register for a virtual training opportunity on December 15, 2021, from 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. EST. The training will demonstrate how different local JRACs formed their structure and why, what processes they have in place, how to work with your council on reporting requirements, and how reporting requirements will guide […]
The Monroe County Housing Authority and Tomah Public Housing Authority have agreed to merge operations, in a move that will streamline services and open up housing options for the people the two agencies serve. Because both agencies are so small, merging will make operations more efficient and clients will only have to deal with one […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The shape of Ohio’s state government for the next decade will be in the balance Wednesday as the Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments on new legislative maps that voter-rights and Democratic groups say are gerrymandered to favor Republicans. Lawyers for the state will be defending the district boundaries, which are likely to […]
An Evansville woman’s death in an apparent murder-suicide raises questions about whether victims of domestic violence should be able to impede authorities from bringing charges against their abuser. In the weeks leading up to 34-year-old Rachael Feazell’s death at the hands of Ryan Hopkins, police were aware of at least two domestic violence incidents involving Hopkins […]
INDIANAPOLIS — We continue our deep dive into pre-trial release and GPS monitoring in Marion County after at least two people were murdered in July, allegedly by people wearing monitors and out on bond. There are roughly 3,400 people on GPS monitoring and home detention, which includes GPS monitoring, in Marion County between pre-trial release […]
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra today announced the release of the new HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy, designed to increase access to the full range of care and services for individuals who use substances that cause overdose, and their families. This new strategy focuses on the multiple substances involved in overdose and the diverse […]
Early in October, more than 20,000 letters went out to residents of Mississippi and Florida letting them know the good news: Their private probation debt had been erased. “Jubilant Greetings!” the letters opened, informing debtors of their good fortune before launching into pointed critique of America’s fraudulent justice system that disproportionately incarcerates poor people and […]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s governor has appointed someone who once was incarcerated to the state’s parole board for the first time. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said Friday that he appointed Peter Slom, making him the first formerly incarcerated person to join the Rhode Island Parole Board. Slom went before the board in 1992, […]
In July 2021, the Association for Continuing Legal Education presented its Award of Outstanding Achievement to the Indiana State Bar Association for Open Conversations: Racism and Racial Injustice, an ISBA program of dialogue and introspection about race and culture in the legal landscape. The program has heightened awareness within the legal community of racism and […]
Josh W. Sipes, Chief Probation Officer, was awarded the Judge Terry Snow Award in appreciation for outstanding leadership, service and dedication to the children of Hancock County at a recent volunteer appreciation dinner of the Hancock County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Pictured with Sipes is Marciann McClarnon Miller, director of Friends of Hancock County […]
The Monroe County Council has approved three new positions within the county’s judicial system to provide more training to probation officers and improve court system navigation for families going through child services. Becca Streit, director of community corrections and assistant chief probation officer, announced to the council on Tuesday that the department has been awarded […]