KENAITZE indian tribe (KENAITZE) is a federally recognized tribe located in the central kenai peninsula borough (KPB) in the state of alaska

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe received a $1,139,590 Formula Grant award from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Justice System Infrastructure Program for Indian Tribes (CFDA 16.596). The funding will support the Kenaitze's Henu Community Wellness Court program through September 2026.

The Henu Court operates as an alternative to incarceration for non-violent adult offenders struggling with substance use issues. It utilizes a phased approach over 18-24 months with requirements for regular check-ins, drug screening, treatment services, and linkage to community supports. Funding will maintain program capacity for intake screening, monitoring, and data collection for up to 20 participants annually. Key personnel including a Tribal Court and Corrections Manager and Probation Officer will provide active supervision, case management, and ensure participant accountability. The program aims to address disproportionately high rates of justice involvement among Alaska Natives/American Indians and reduce substance-related criminality impacts.

With this funding, KENAITZE's HENU community wellness court (HENU) will: maintain program capacity to screen, monitor, support, and collect data on HENU applicants and participants; and maintain program partnerships, oversight, and accountability needed to operate HENU. KENAITZE seeks to address the disproportionate rates of justice-system involvement among alaska native/american indian (an/AI) community members, especially for crimes involving substance misuse, by continuing to provide alternative-to-incarceration treatment pathways for adult non-violent offenders. Based on adult drug court standards and 10 key components for tribal healing-to-wellness courts, the 18-24 month "phased" approach of HENU operates under joint-jurisdiction between KENAITZE and the state of alaska court system, requiring regular check-INS with both tribal and state judges, frequent urinalysis (UA) to ensure participant accountability, continual monitoring toward sustained recovery from substances through chemical dependency and mental health treatment, and linkages to community resources and supports. Each HENU applicant is screened for program admission using evidence-based approaches, including motivational interviewing (MI), the level of service inventory-revised (LSI-R), and the addiction severity index (ASI) screening tools. These timely screenings enable HENU to prioritize applicants with high risks/needs, and determine whether the applicant should be referred to a higher level of care than the program can provide, such as in-patient treatment. For KENAITZE to continue to address persistent substance use-related criminality, the spillover into other areas of family and community life, and the regional demand for restorative justice alternatives, sustained and expanded support for service coordination, chemical screening, participant RE-entry, and key personnel-specifically the 0.5 FTE tribal court and corrections manager, the 1.0 FTE probation officer, and the HENU court judge-through purpose area 3 funding is desperately needed to ensure that referred HENU applicants can continue to receive timely screenings; that accepted program participants can continue to receive active supervision and case management, relevant resource referrals, and be held accountable to the high standards of the HENU program; and that the HENU court partnership continues to be sustained in service to the community. By the end of the first program year, HENU will have expanded programmatic and facility capacity to serve as many as twenty (20) participants per year-nearly double the current enrollment, and equating to more than ninety (90) participants served by the end of the 5-year performance period.