The saint regis mohawk tribe will establish a juvenile tribal healing to wellness court (jwhc)

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe received a $400,000 Project Grant award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program (CFDA 16.585). The purpose of the grant is for the tribe to establish a Juvenile Tribal Healing to Wellness Court (JHWC) that will address gaps in services for justice-involved youth with substance use disorders.

Key activities funded under the 5-year grant include: 1) the JHWC team attending training and developing policies/procedures in the first year; 2) implementing the JHWC program in the second year, including screening youth, referring them for assessment, and accepting appropriate youth into the program; 3) training external partners like schools and probation on the JHWC referral process; and 4) collecting data to monitor the success of youth in the program. The grant will allow the tribe to build on the success of its existing adult Healing to Wellness Court to provide comprehensive, culturally-appropriate services for justice-involved tribal youth.

The jhwc will be built on the success of the adult HWC and address the current gaps in service. Referrals from outside jurisdictions will be accepted, including schools and county probation, as well as tribal programs. The HWC team will spend the first year attending training and developing policies and procedures. During the second year, the team will implement the jhwc. The team will train schools, county probation, and tribal DSS on the referral process to identify youth early. The jhwc case manager will screen youth, refer them for a substance use disorder assessment, and the team will accept appropriate youth and refer others to treatment. The jhwc case manager will collect data from both tracks of youth to monitor their success.