Community Court Grant Program

Community Court Grant Program

The Community Court Grant Program seeks to support the creation, enhancement, and evaluation of community-focused courts across the country.

Spokane Library

The 'Spokane Model'

Read about the Downtown Community Court in Spokane, Wash., which convenes in the public library.

Launched as a partnership between the Center for Court Innovation and the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Community Court Grant Program funded 10 sites in 2016. More information about those sites is below, as well as the results of the 2018 Community Court Grant Program.

2018 Community Court Grant Program Sites

Following a national solicitation, the Center has selected five jurisdictions to receive funding and technical assistance, and named four new mentor community courts.

State of Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts (Wilmington, Del.) 

The Wilmington community court plans to serve the entire city of Wilmington covering nearly 17 square miles and over 70,000 residents. The project would be a multi-jurisdictional collaboration between the Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, and Justice of the Peace Court. The project will focus services on substance abuse, mental health, housing, life skills, and importantly, the creation of job opportunities. Key partners will include the Judiciary, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of Defense Services, the Governor’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, Wilmington City Council, Wilmington Police, New Castle County Police, the Department of Labor, the Division of Substance Abuse, and Mental Health, and many more.

In The News:

City of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.)

The Fort Lauderdale community court plans to address ordinance violations within the downtown and entertainment districts of the city, with a special focus on improving service delivery for individuals experiencing homelessness. Key partners will include the chief judge Jack Tuter of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, Mayor Dean Trantalis, city prosecutor, court administrator, City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Henderson Behavioral Health, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Broward County, Sunserve, Care Resource, OIC of South Florida, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and Second Chance Society.

In The News:

Reno Municipal Court (Nev.)

The Reno community court plans to serve the one square-mile downtown area that includes the city’s main business, hotel, and entertainment district. It is anticipated that court will be held in the Downtown Washoe County Library and hearings will include misdemeanor nuisance offense cases. The court will provide targeted resources for individuals experiencing homelessness.

In The News:

City of Puyallup (Wash.)

The Puyallup community court plans to serve the entire city of Puyallup which includes over 14 square miles and 40,000 residents. The program aims to co-locate social services at the central courthouse to better serve a population that is geographically isolated from needed services. Key project partners include the presiding judge of the municipal court, chief of police, city prosecutor, public defender, court administrator, and several service providers. 

In The News:

General Sessions Court Metro Davidson County (Nashville, Tenn.)

The proposed community court project named C.A.R.E. (Creating Avenues for Restoration and Empowerment) plans to serve the entire city of Nashville which includes over 500 square miles and a population of over 625,000 residents. The community court will be geared toward young adults, ages 18-26 who plead guilty to non-violent felonies and misdemeanors. Key partners include Judge Rachel L. Bell, the District Attorney, Glenn Funk, the Public Defender, Martesha Johnson, Anne-Louise Wirthlin with the TN Administrative Office of Courts and a number of community resource service providers.

In The News:

2016 Community Court Grant Program Sites

Map Community Court Program

Cleveland Community Court (Ohio)

The Cleveland Municipal Court is implementing a community court serving the entire city (pop: 390,000) plus the neighboring Village of Bratenahl. The project includes the use of a risk/needs assessment tool, as well as a process and impact evaluation.

In The News:

Eugene Community Court (Ore.)

Eugene to NCS

Staff and partners of the Eugene Community Court get an introduction to our Newark Community Solutions program. They also visited the Midtown Community Court and the Red Hook Community Justice Center.

On our 'New Thinking' podcast, Eugene court administrator Cheryl Stone speaks with Matthew Watkins about the city's innovative community court model.

The City of Eugene is implementing a community court to serve the city's downtown core, seeking to resolve misdemeanors and violations through community service and service mandates. The court's sessions are being heard in the downtown library, which is also providing a separate room for service providers.

In The News:

A brief video introduction to the Eugene court produced by the city of Eugene.

Honolulu Community Outreach Court (Hawaii)

Honolulu court

Staff of Honolulu's court, including Judge Clarence Pacarro, third from left

The City and County of Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the district court and the office of the public defender, is implementing a community court serving the entire city and county of Honolulu (pop: 375,000) – a community with the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the United States. The court seeks to resolve quality-of-life offenses with community service and linkages to social services.

In The News:

Jersey City Community Solutions (N.J.)

Jersey city forum

Planners of the Jersey City court field questions from the public at a community forum in August 2017.

The City of Jersey City is implementing a community court calendar for its municipal court, in which 75% of cases heard are for quality-of-life offenses. The project serves the entire city (pop: 257,000).

In The News:

Las Vegas Township Community Court (Nev.)

The Las Vegas Township Justice Court is implementing a community court to serve the Las Vegas Strip corridor. The project seeks to reduce crime and the recidivism rate within the 4.2 mile strip corridor. This area is filled with high rates of poverty, homelessness, medically and mentally fragile people, substance abusers and young people who engage in low-level crimes. The project seeks to redesign the arrest-to-arraignment process and resolve quality-of-life cases by including referrals to community and social services.

In The News:

Olympia Community Court (Wash.)

The City of Olympia’s municipal court is implementing a community court hearing quality-of-life offenses committed in the downtown core. The court is expanding access to on-site services and increasing data collection and analysis.

In The News:

Philadelphia Accelerated Misdemeanor Program (Pa.)

The Philadelphia Mental Health Care Corporation, in partnership with the municipal court, district attorney’s office, and Defender Association of Philadelphia, is enhancing the city’s five neighborhood-based “AMP” courts by improving participant access to mental health services and increasing training in evidence-based practices.

Restorative Justice Community Court (Cook County, Ill.)

North Lawndale circle meeting

Restorative Justice Court staff and community partners debrief in a circle meeting following a day of hearings.

The Circuit Court of Cook County is implementing a community court serving young adults (ages 18-26) in the North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago's west side (pop: 40,000). In addition to service linkages, the court uses restorative justice conferences.

In The News:

Second Chance Community Improvement Court (Dallas County, Texas)

The Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, in partnership with the district court and the district attorney’s office, is implementing a community court serving young adults (ages 17-25) arrested on misdemeanor and some felony charges. The court is co-located with the South Dallas Community Court and serves the same geographic catchment area.

In The News:

Spokane Community Court (Wash.)

Spokane public defender

Public defender Francis Adewale, part of the Spokane court staff (photo credit: Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)

Opened in 2013, the City of Spokane's Downtown Community Court serves the city's central business district, operating out of a public library in an effort to better reach the low-level repeat defendants who are an important part of the court's clientele by connecting them to services in a friendly setting. The model proved so successful that, in 2017, with support from the Community Court Grant Program, the Municipal Court opened Spokane's Northeast Community Court in an existing community center. The grant also supports the creation of a new position coordinating the work of the two courts and the use by both of a risk and needs assessment tool.

In The News:

An overview of the work of Spokane Community Court.