From minor challenges to major crises, stress is part of life. And while you can’t always control your circumstances, you can control how you respond to them. When stress becomes overwhelming, or it’s chronic, it can take a toll on your well-being. That’s why it’s important to have effective stress relievers that can calm your mind and […]
A new initiative in Howard County designed to stem student truancy is firing on all cylinders, with student referrals from local schools exploding over last year’s totals. Earlier this year the makings of a new initiative began to take shape. Local judges noticed that student truancy referrals from schools were beginning to enter the court […]
LAGRANGE — Indiana State Supreme Court Justice Steven David returned to LaGrange County Monday, a guest of JDAI program director Randy Merrifield. David came to speak with local students in programs supported by the JDAI office and meet with local Amish businessmen. David has been to LaGrange County three times in the last two years […]
ANGOLA — The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative is paying dividends in Steuben County, its coordinator reported to the Steuben County Board of Commissioners on Monday. While speaking before the commissioners, JDAI Coordinator Kathy Armstrong presented statistics showing three categories regarding juvenile detention in Steuben County. The bottom line: There is a downward trend in the […]
Conference Theme: “Stages of Change” The 2019 IACCAC Fall Training Institute will be held on November 20-22, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, located at One South Capitol, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. (Intensive sessions begin on November 19, 2019). The 2019 IACCAC Fall Training Institute will feature… Wednesday – Keynote: Dialogue and Collective Leadership: Co-Creating Cultural […]
As our population continues to diversify, judges encounter an increased demand to provide language access in criminal court proceedings. Although the obligation to provide court interpretation for defendants may be readily apparent, the court’s duty can get murky when a victim requires language access. The obligation becomes less clear when the victim is merely observing […]
In partnership with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration/Division of Mental Health and Addiction, the Indiana Office of Court Services is accepting grant applications to provide financial assistance to counties using a Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) approach to enhance collaborative partnerships between the local criminal justice system and behavioral health care providers to address […]
A man’s argument that the execution of a suspended sentence for a crime he committed while on probation was an unduly harsh sanction failed before the Indiana Court of Appeals. The COA on Monday affirmed a Bartholomew Circuit Court order requiring Nicholas L. Porter to serve two years that had been suspended to probation after […]
Early this year, the founder of Miss Transgender America, Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, was found dead in her home after being stabbed and beaten to death by her husband. In an interview with police, Mark Steele-Knudslien said he “snapped” after arguing with his wife. Intimate partner violence is as prevalent in the LGBTQ community as in […]
When a co-worker at Putnam County Adult Probation spoke about a problem one of her clients was facing recently, case manager Kelli Stevens had the seed of an idea. Probation officer Malachi Taylor was meeting with a client, speaking with her about the need for a job in order to move forward for both the […]
The Indiana Department of Correction will be presenting a brief webinar and Q&A to provide those providing community supervision with vital information regarding changes in IDOC Addiction Recovery Services and the implications on the Purposeful Incarceration Initiative for recommendation, sentencing, and modification. To register for the IDOC Purposeful Incarceration – Update for Community Supervision […]
Two key initiatives undertaken by Trial Court Technology (TCT) are in the spotlight for playing important roles in the sharing of court data with key stakeholders and the public. Data from the Abstract of Judgment application and the Odyssey court case management system is enhancing the amount and quality of data TCT is now able […]
When current La Porte Circuit Court Judge Tom Alevizos came to the bench in 2007, he noticed there was a problem concerning the way juvenile cases were being handled. He immediately went to work fixing the problem. “Everything was being done wrong,” he said. “When I got here things were bad.” Now, La Porte County […]
June was another rough month in Manchester, N.H. Over the course of 30 days, there were 99 suspected opioid overdoses, six of which were fatal. That’s the most overdoses in a month so far in 2017, according to Christopher Stawasz, regional director of emergency medical services provider American Medical Response. It’s the continuation of a […]
The ads have been popping up on billboards, buses and subways and in glossy magazines, with portraits of attractive men and women and a simple question in bold letters: What is Vivitrol? Five years ago, Vivitrol was a treatment for opioid addiction that was struggling to find a market. Now, its sales and profile are […]
As the nation’s opioid crisis worsens, the authorities are confronting a resurgent, unruly player in the illicit trade of the deadly drugs, one that threatens to be even more formidable than the cartels. The internet. In a growing number of arrests and overdoses, law enforcement officials say, the drugs are being bought online. Internet sales […]
Indiana’s Commission to Combat Drug Abuse Thursday laid out a strategic plan to combat the state’s opioid epidemic. Saving lives and expanding access to treatment are two of the highest priorities within the plan. Jim McClelland, the executive director for drug treatment, prevention, and enforcement, says it’s all hands on deck in this fight. “Substantially […]
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Six new Allen County juvenile probation officers were sworn in Thursday. Abigail Fuller, Robin Beasley, Dontaey Paige, Michael Starks, Gregory Coleman and Dallas Colley were sworn in in a ceremony at the Allen County Juvenile Center along Wells Street. The new probation officers were sworn in by Allen County Judge Daniel […]
Indiana drug treatment centers will finally get the help they need. State officials just announced that Indiana will receive $10.9 million in federal grant funding to help fight the opioid epidemic. That grant was awarded to the state by the Department of Health and Human Services and was announced by Senator Joe Donnelly’s office who […]
Miami County chief probation officer Susan Rice describes her department’s financial health in stark terms. “We’re poor,” she said. The poverty has been brought on by a money crunch linked to a decrease in user fee payments. These fees are charged for programs and services that offenders must participate in as part of their sentences. […]
There’s one more tool in Howard County’s bag of tricks to help combat the opiate crisis. For about three months now the Howard County Probation Department has been issuing referrals to some of its clients suffering from addiction to opiates and alcohol. With that, they may take a monthly shot that not only lessens the […]
Indiana’s e-filing project is at full steam just two years after the Supreme Court announced it would pursue a uniform, statewide system. By the end of 2018, all Indiana courts will have voluntary e-filing available, and attorneys will be required to electronically file most pleadings. Twenty-first century pioneers Change is difficult; progress is even harder. […]
Unless they are there for a wedding or an adoption, people rarely come to court for a happy, positive reason. Judges who handle criminal cases involving allegations of spousal or child abuse, sexual assault, or other violent crimes can count on seeing people who have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetimes. But […]
What is behind it and what judges can do about it In Part 1 of this article in the September/October issue of Court Times, we considered research on the high victim attrition rate in criminal domestic violence cases, as well as some laws that judges can use to help ensure the integrity of the proceedings. […]
Purdue Polytechnic Richmond will be hosting a Graduate School Open House on Monday, February 22, 2016 in Tom Raper Hall, room 214, from 5:00 – 6:30pm. Purdue Polytechnic Richmond, 2325 Chester Blvd.,Richmond, IN 47374 Free refreshments will be available, compliments of Purdue Polytechnic’s Center for Professional Studies (ProSTAR). A representative from ProSTAR will be here to […]
An advisory committee recommended Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve an implant designed to reduce addicts’ cravings for heroin or prescription painkillers. The implant, probuphine, provides a steady dose of buprenorphine, which has been shown to ease withdrawal symptoms, decrease cravings and cut the risk of relapse. Buprenorphine is currently available only as a pill or dissolvable […]
A judge presiding over a criminal docket will quickly conclude that family violence cases are different. In an auto theft case, for example, the victim is usually cooperative: she wants to help the police and prosecutor bring the perpetrator to justice for his crime. But in a case involving family violence—especially intimate partner violence—the victim […]
Faced with a nationwide epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse, the Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will take steps to increase access to drug treatment and expand the training of doctors who prescribe opiate painkillers. The efforts are likely to have a modest effect on the steep increase in heroin and prescription drug […]
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
09/10/2015
Michael P. Botticelli
Today, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) released the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report which shows progress in reducing some forms of substance use – especially among adolescents. Substance use levels in many areas, however have remained relatively constant. With regard to substance use, the report found […]
While still a subject of some controversy, expungement, the process by which an Indiana citizen can seal past criminal records, has undergone significant revision since its inception. In 2012, Indiana lawmakers enacted legislation popularly known as the “Second Chance Law.” Under the 2012 procedure, only those convicted of misdemeanors and non-violent class D felonies were […]
Heroin use is increasing rapidly across the United States among all age, race, income and ethnic groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday. And the increase comes with a devastating price: Deaths from heroin-related overdoses nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013. Heroin use doubled among women and young adults ages 18 to […]
On June 8, 2015, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the partial denial of a man’s request to suppress drug evidence found during a routine warrantless search of the residence he shared with a man on probation. The probationer only consented to searches based on reasonable suspicion. Defendant Brishen Vanderkolk lived with Jordan Sullivan, who was on home […]
Patricia K. Kerig, Ph.D., and Julian D. Ford, Ph.D.
With rates of arrests for girls in the United States fast outpacing those for boys, the past decade has seen increasing attention devoted to understanding the causes, consequences, and solutions for girls’ delinquency. Girls now account for approximately 30 percent of the estimated 2.11 million juvenile arrests made each year, and on any given day […]
When patients brought to the ER have uncontrolled blood pressure, neglected asthma or diabetes that hasn’t been dealt with, doctors often start treatment right then and there. But what happens when the patient turns out to be addicted to opioids, such as oxycodone or heroin? In case of an overdose, the medical team can […]
The World Health Organization ranks the United States first among 17 European and North American countries for prevalence of marijuana use. Indiana has some of the harshest marijuana criminalization laws. Someone in possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. […]
Each year five thousand offenders leave the Indiana prison system to return to the streets of Marion County where the recidivism rate may be as high as 30 percent. A recent survey has determined that one out of every ten of those returning offenders may be suffering the aftereffects of traumatic brain injury [TBI] and […]
When a police officer approaches a teenager, the officer brings a badge, a gun and the power to arrest. What the officer doesn’t always have, though, is an understanding of the factors influencing the teen and the way their brain functions. Sometimes that’s a problem, and the situation escalates. There might be fewer problems in […]
Paradise on earth is how most people know Hawaii – white sandy beaches and coconut palms. But there are Hawaiians living outside the frame on the picture postcard. The roughly 8 million tourists who visit the state each year attract a lot of property crime. Even an ocean away from the mainland, the methamphetamine market […]
Does the government use people’s cell phones to track their movements? For some people in Allen County, that soon could be true–and that’s a good thing, officials say. The Allen County Commissioners today were expected to approve a pilot program under which the county’s Community Corrections department would monitor the whereabouts of about 70 released […]
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment-National Library of Medicine
April 2012
Danielle Rudes, Faye Taxman, Shannon Portillo, Amy Murphy, Anne Rhodes, Maxine Stitzer, Peter Luongo, Peter Friedmann
Researchers have long recommended expanding treatment options for those with a drug abuse history, leading to the founding and proliferation of drug courts and other treatment diversion programs. The effectiveness of such programs has varied across the horizon as some jurisdictions continue to rely on traditional criminal justice sanction systems, while others endorse newer evidence-based practices. One […]
Pension withdrawals causing new concerns at Statehouse A technicality in state law is permitting thousands of new Hoosier public workers to opt out of Indiana’s public pension plans, such as the Public Employee Retirement Fund [PERF], and seek alternatives in retirement planning. This loophole has bolstered autonomy for Hoosiers who have entered the public employee […]
Probation Officers’ Stress and Burnout Associated With Caseload Events Compassion fatigue is a combination of burnout and secondary trauma that can significantly decrease our effectiveness at work and in life. Anyone who works with people in distress on a regular basis is at risk. This is not a medical disease, but if ignored can develop […]