Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts
The following sites
contain extensive drug court resources. These sites are increasingly
including tribal drug court specific resource materials. For additional
alcohol and substance abuse resources, see our Alcohol
and Substance Abuse page.
As of July 2005, there were fifty-six Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts (Drug
Courts) that were fully operational in the United States and seventy-one in the planning
stages (Drug
Court Activity Update: January 1, 2005,
Office of Justice Programs Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance
Project, 2005). As of January 2005, there were 1262 drug courts that were fully
operational in the United States and 575 in the planning stages (Drug
Court Activity Update: January 1, 2005,
Office of Justice Programs Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance
Project, 2005).
Perceptions of Methamphetamine use in three Western Tribal Communities:
Implications for Child Abuse in Indian Country - Indian country lacks both a
macro and micro study of child abuse and methamphetamines. Because so little is
documented routinely by either law enforcement, social services or medical
professionals in assessing risks and dangers to children from environments where
meth is found, data is difficult to find. However, in an attempt to explore the
increasing concerns raised by the emerging methamphetamine epidemic in Indian
country, professionals from three Western Tribal communities were asked to
complete a survey about their perceptions of meth us and implications for child
abuse in the communities in which they worked. This study was funded through the
Training and Technical Assistance grant that the Tribal Law and Policy Institute
receives for Children’s Justice Act Partnerships in Indian Communities to assist
tribes in addressing serious child abuse. The tribes and individuals that
participated in the study were guaranteed anonymity due to the sensitive nature
of the questions being asked. However, each Tribal Council provided permission
for the surveys to be conducted within their service areas.
The Tribal
Law and Policy Institute has developed six comprehensive Tribal
Healing to Wellness Court
publications as part of the Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Technical
Assistance Project Resource Publication Series (Adobe
Acrobat Reader is required to view these files). The full series is as
follows:
-
Healing
to Wellness Courts: A Preliminary Overview of Tribal Drug Courts

This
publication (initially published in July 1999) provides an overview of
Tribal Drug Courts or Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts. This overview
discusses how the drug court concept is consistent with Native American concepts
of justice and how the drug court concept can be adapted to meet the
specific needs of individual Native American communities. It provides
information concerning the background of the Tribal Healing to Wellness
Courts movement, the unique role and importance of Tribal Justice Systems,
adapting the term "drug court" for Trial Justice Systems, defining
drug courts, and defining Healing to Wellness Courts. It then provides an
overview of some of the critical issues and challenges faced by Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts, including the challenge of incorporating tribal
custom and tradition, addressing the high volume of alcohol abuse cases, and
addressing jurisdictional and resource limitations.
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Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: The Key Components

Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts: The Key Components is designed to provide suggested key components and recommended
practices needed for Indian Nations and tribal justice systems to consider
as they design, develop, and implement drug courts that meet the needs of
their individual communities. The publication is organized around ten key
components, adapted for Indian nations and tribal justice systems, which
describe the basic elements that define Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts.
The purpose of each component is explained, followed by several recommended
practices that give guidance for implementing each component. Healing to
Wellness Courts help to put misguided individuals back on track, on to a
healing to wellness journey. As this publication sets forth, each tribal
community and nation must define and describe the nature of this healing
journey. Its direction and pathway must be guided by each Indian Nation's
culture, tradition, common practices, and vision.
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Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: Treatment Guidelines for Adults and Juveniles
(Draft)

Tribal
justice systems have often become separated from the provision of healing
services. Holistically, this separation of function has made it very
difficult to deal effectively with the physical and spiritual healing that
is fundamental to tribal tradition. Many tribes have begun the process of
annexing their court systems with a range of treatment services that combine
traditional healing with western treatment concepts through tribal drug
courts - or healing to wellness courts. This publication examines guidelines
that have been developed to provide tribal communities with an overview of
substance abuse treatment strategies as they have been developed by drug
court programs. Tribal programs might consider applying these treatment
strategies along with traditional healing practices. These guidelines draw
upon the experiences of hundreds of state adult and juvenile drug court
programs, operating in various environments and serving a wide range of
individuals addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs. This publication
examines key issues in developing treatment, developing a wellness court
treatment program, adapting treatment program components, special
considerations regarding treatment services, strategies for maintaining sobriety
(relapse prevention), and looking ahead. Please note that this is the first
publication to comprehensively address the difficult and controversial issue
of drug court treatment guidelines - consequently, this publication should also
prove very useful for state drug courts.
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Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: The Judge’s Bench Book (Draft)

For
every difficult demanding journey, one must have a leader. In a Healing to Wellness
Court, that person is the judge. This bench book is designed to provide
instruction and practical tools for judges in their efforts to guide those traveling
on the road to wellness. It is designed to provide general guidance for
judges, examples of court procedure, and tools to assist judges in their
wellness court role. This benchbook is also useful for wellness court team
members and community leaders who are interested in designing, creating, an
implementing a wellness court program.
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Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: Program Development Guide (Draft)

Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts: Program Development Guide is a practical handbook for planning, implementing,
and managing Healing to Wellness Courts (adult, juvenile, and family). This
program development guide provides step-by-step recommendations for design,
development, and implementation of Tribal Healing to Wellness Court programs
from a practical standpoint. It is designed to assist steering committees and
planning groups as they (1) use team-based approaches; (2) gain
knowledge of Healing to Wellness Court concepts; (3) incorporate the ten key
components; (4) help establish policies and procedures suitable to the needs
of the tribal community; (5) guide the court to integrate available
resources; (6) develop interagency agreements; (7) incorporate a management
information system to track participants and services; and (8) identify
possible problem areas.
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Tribal Healing to Wellness
Courts Operational Materials (with American
University) (Please Contact
American University for copies of this publication)
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Tribe opens new treatment center (August 4,
2005)
A new era in treating substance abuse among Saginaw Chippewa Tribal
members begins today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Tribe's
new behavioral health center.
Part of the 33,000-square-foot, single-story
sandstone-and-redwood building actually opened last October,
offering outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment. The
rest of the center, a residential treatment program for substance
abuse and a domestic violence center, is to open this fall. Today, the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrates the new direction
and new facilities, said Elizabeth Evans, Ojibwe Substance Abuse
Director for the Tribe. Festivities begin at noon at the center,
located on Shepherd Road north of Broadway Road. The residential treatment center will have 18 beds, and planners
expect clients to spend about 28 days in treatment. The treatment
process combines the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with
Native teachings.
Read More>>>
The Tribal
Law and Policy Institute provides technical assistance, training and
evaluation services for Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts on a fee for
services basis.
The Institute has provided Technical Assistance services for Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts from the beginning of the Tribal Healing to
Wellness Court initiative. The Institute has developed an exceptional pool of consultants
with knowledge and experience concerning the tribal drug court concept. They are well
versed with tribal issues as well as experienced in the operational and planning issues of adult, juvenile and family drug courts.
For more information, please contact the Institute at 323-650-5467 or at
907-770-1950 or
.
The Tribal Law and Policy Institute has
established a Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts mailing list. To subscribe
to the list, send the following message to:
imailsrv@tribal-institute.org
subscribe TLPIWellness-crts your_name
(example: subscribe TLPIWellness-crts Jane_Doe)
The Drug
Court Discretionary Grant Program (DCDG), sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance,
provides financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, local
courts, units of local government, and American Indian tribal governments
to develop and implement treatment drug courts that effectively integrate
substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and
incentives, and transitional services in a judicially supervised court
setting with jurisdiction over nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders.
The Drug Court Planning Initiative (DCPI) is sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. This site provides communities participating in DCPI training programs with resource materials that enhance the DCPI training experience. Training resources are provided as supplements to the materials obtained at each DCPI
training program. The
Drug Court
Clearinghouse Project has been operating at American University
since 1994 and serves as a national clearinghouse for drug court
information and activity. It provides a wide range of office-based
services, including telephone consultation, e-mail responses to
information requests, networking and facilitation of telephone
conference calls among peers to discuss issues of concern, and
dissemination of sample operational materials developed by drug courts.
Sample of Healing to Wellness Court documents found on their site.
- Cass
County-Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Wellness Court Brochure by Cass
County-Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Wellness Court September 2007
- Cass
County-Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Wellness Court Handbook by Cass
County-Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Wellness Court September 2007
- Cass
County-Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Wellness Court Sanctions by Cass
County-Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Wellness Court September 2007
- December
2000 Tribal Drug Court Survey
- Duckwater
Shoshone Tribal (Adult) Drug Court. Nixon, Nevada: Treatment Program
Requirements (Phases 1-4.)
- Duckwater
Shoshone Tribal Juvenile Drug Court. Nixon Nevada. Treatment Program
Requirements (Phases 1-4).
- Excerpts
from Selected Opinions of Federal, State and Tribal Courts Relevant to Drug
Court Programs. Volume II, Section I : Opinions: FEDERAL COURT DECISIONS -
LOUISIANA. June 2006
- Excerpts
from Selected Opinions of Federal, State and Tribal Courts Relevant to Drug
Court Programs. Volume II, Section II : Opinions: MINNESOTA - WYOMING. June
2006 June 2007
- Excerpts
from Selected Opinions of Federal, State and Tribal Courts Relevant to Drug
Court Programs: Part I: Decision Summaries. June 2006
- Final
Draft - Blackfeet Alternative Court Evaluation: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
December 2006
- Fort Peck
Tribes Community Wellness Court: Executive Summary December 2006
- Ft. Peck
Community Wellness Court Program Description
- Ft. Peck
Community Wellness Court Program Description
- Healing
and Community Justice Policy of the Judical Branch of the Navajo Nation
Remarks of the Honorable Robert Yazzie, Chief Judge of the Navajo Nation on
Traditional Navajo Peacemaking and its Role in the Current Navajo Judicial
System, May 1 , 1998
- Healing
and Community Justice Policy of the Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nationa
Remarks of the Honorable Robert Yazzie, Chieg Judge of the Navajo Nation on
Traditional Navajo Peacemaking and its Role in the Current Navajo Judicial
System, May 1, 1998.
- June 1999
Tribal Drug Court Activity Update: Summary Information
- Lessons
Learned from the First Four Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts and
Recommendations for the Future by Karen Gottlieb and Christine Duclos
December 2004
- List of
Drug Courts by State and County - Tribal by Justice Programs Office
March 2008
- Makah
Tribal Drug/Healing to Wellness Court, Neah Bay, Washington: Policy and
Procedures Manual
-
Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1, 2001- Section I. Blackfeet
Tribal Court
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,200- Section II. Duckwater
Shoshone Judicial System
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001- Cover page,Table of
Contents, and acknowledgement
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001-Section IV. Fort Peck
Tribal Court by FORT PECK TRIBAL COURT January 1990
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001-Section XI. Poarch Creek
Indian Drug Court Program
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001-Section VI. Inupiat
Community of the Arctic Slope by Tribal Juvenile Wellness Court Code
June 2001
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001-Section VIII. Muscogee
Nation
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001-Section X. Pascua Yagui
Tribal Drug Court by PASCUA YAGUl TRIBAL DRUG COURT June
2001
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Operational Materials for Tribal Courts June 1,2001-Section XIII.
Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribal Drug Court
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Operational Materials for Tribal CourtsJune 1,2001-Section V. Hualapai
Tribal Court
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Overcoming Barriers to Family and Community Healing in the Wellness Court
Process December 2006
- Pasqua
Yaqui Tribal Drug Court Client Guidelines and Grievance Procedure
- POARCH
BAND OF CREEK INDIANS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY December 2006
- Poarch
Creek Indian Tribal Drug Court Program (Atmere, AL) Staff Manual
- Prepared
Statement of Chief Judge Don Sollars, Blackfeet Tribal Court Submitted to
the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Tribal Justice Issues
Hearing June 3, 1998
- Prepared
Statement of Chief Judge Don Sollars, Blackfeet Tribal Court Submitted to
the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Tribal Justice Issues
Hearing June 3, 1998
- Pueblo of
Zia Juvenile Healing To Wellness Court-Update
-
Recidivism and Other Findings Reported in Selected Evaluation Reports of
Tribal by Justice Programs Office December 2007
- Selected
Opinions from Federal, State and Tribal Courts Relevant to Drug Court
Programs: Part II: Opinions by Justice Programs Office May
2003
-
Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribal Treatment Courthouse Policies and Procedures,
e-mail from Judge B.J. Jones, Agency Village, SD
- State and
Local Court Rules and Administrative Orders Relating to Drug Court Programs,
May 2003
- Statutes
Enacted in State Legislatures and Tribal Councils Relating to Drug Courts as
of June 1, 2006
- Statutes
Enacted in State Legislatures and Tribal Councils Relating to Drug Courts,
as of May 1 2003
- The
Duckwater Shoshone Drug Court, 1997-2000: Melding Traditional Dispute
Resolution With Due Process. by Ronald Eagleye Johnny
January 2002
- The Fort
Peck Community Wellness Court Implementation Plan
- The Fort
Peck Community Wellness Court Implementation Plan
- The
Hualapai Community Wellness Court: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY December 2006
- The Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe September 2007
- The Navajo
Nation v. Ethelyn Bengay a/k/a/ Ethelyn Peterson, Navajo District Court,
Filed 12/12/96. Authority of the Court to dismiss a criminal complaint on
showing that defendant has complied with peacemaking agreement
- The Navajo
Response to Crime: by Honorable Robert Yazzie Chief Justice of the Navajo
Nation 11/97
- The Navajo
Response to Crime: by Honorable Robert Yazzie Chief Justice of the Navajo
Nation 11/97
- The Navajo
Response to Crime: by Honorable Yazzie Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation
- Tribal
Courts - Executive Summary: Process and Outcome Evaluations in Four Tribal
Wellness Courts December 2005
- Tribal
Drug Court Works on Early Intervention Youths, Record Courier, Douglas
County, Nevada by Maggie O'Neill November 2003
- Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: Program Development Guide
- Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: The Judge's Bench Book
- Tribal
Healing to Wellness Courts: Treatment Guidelines for Adults and Juveniles
General Drug Court Resources
- Notre Dame
Law Review (Word Document)
Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Drug Treatment Court Movement:
Revolutionizing the Criminal Justice System's Response to Drug Abuse and
Crime in America
-
Research On Drug Courts: A Critical Review

By Steven Belenko, Ph.D.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University
May, 2001
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Drug Court Publications Resource Guide

- Development and
Implementation of Drug Court Systems
The National
Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) is the principal
organization of professionals involved in the development and
implementation of treatment-oriented drug courts. Organized in 1994,
NADCP's members include judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment
providers and rehabilitation experts, law enforcement and corrections
personnel, educators, researchers, and community leaders. Information on Training
and Technical Assistance, Calendar
of Events, Publications,
and Mentor Court Network
and the following Drug Court Practitioner Fact Sheets:
The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) is the Federal agency charged with
improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and
rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost
to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses.
SAMHSA presents three agency websites that maintain official data files on the
numbers of people using or needing to use the Nation's network of substance
abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services. They also
offer:
National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) has an extensive listing of online publications,
including the following:
Drug addiction can be effectively treated with behavioral-based
therapies and, for addiction to some drugs such as heroin or nicotine,
medications. Treatment may vary for each person depending on the type of
drug(s) being used and multiple courses of treatment may be needed to
achieve success. Research has revealed 13 basic principles that underlie
effective drug addiction treatment discussed in NIDA’s Principles
of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (see below for
complete guide).
Principles
of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide
The Treatment Improvement
Exchange (TIE) is a resource sponsored by the Division of State and
Community Assistance of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to
provide information exchange between CSAT staff and State and local
alcohol and substance abuse agencies. The TIE Contract is funded by the
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
CSAT Treatment
Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are best practice guidelines for the
treatment of substance abuse. CSAT's Office of Evaluation, Scientific
Analysis, and Synthesis draws on the experience and knowledge of clinical,
research, and administrative experts to produce the TIPs, which are
distributed to a growing number of facilities and individuals across the
country. The audience for the TIPs is expanding beyond public and private
substance abuse treatment facilities as alcohol and other drug disorders
are increasingly recognized as a major problem.
Norchem'sDrug
Testing Quarterly has clear, concise articles and tips put you on top
of the ever-changing world of drug testing. Law-enforcement officers, case
workers, private industry managers, and medical professionals are among
those already benefiting from this timely and informative publication. For
previous editions, see their
Back
Issue page.
Moyers on
Addiction: Close to Home, premiered on PBS stations on March 29, 1998.
This Web companion piece features Science:
The Hijacked Brain, the latest scientific advances in understanding
and treating addiction, plus Animated
Illustrations of the brain and the mechanism of drugs in the body; Treatment:
Changing Lives, how treatment works, types of treatment, profiles of
selected programs, and questions to ask; Prevention:
The Next Generation, what works and what doesn't, who is at risk, and
how we can protect our children; Policy:
The Politics of Addiction, current policy, controversial issues, and
what you can do to help; Viewpoints,
experts debate the hot topics and Help
& Resources, get help now, learn if you or a loved one has a
problem, and find more information and Guides
& Outreach, free, downloadable education guides for viewers,
educators, employers, families, and health professionals.
Breaking The Cycle
-- A Developmental Model for the Assessment and Treatment of Adolescents
with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems
was written by Leslie Acoca,
M.A., M.F.C.C. for the National Council's Substance Abuse Program. The
monograph is dedicated to providing judges with both a theoretical
framework for understanding adolescent substance abuse and practical
guidelines for generating and choosing effective and economical substance
abuse treatment resources. Other resources can also be found at the National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
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