SPA faculty and staff maintain a portfolio of multi-year projects, as well as smaller, short-term engagements, where our expertise can be of significant benefit. Recognizing the value of collaboration, we often partner with other organizations to provide the most comprehensive services to the field.

NIJ's Multisite Evaluation of Veterans Treatment Courts
There are now over 600 veterans treatment courts (VTCs) and veteran-focused court programs operating in the majority of states across the U.S. Although VTCs continue to rapidly propagate, empirical research on these programs is significantly lacking. The National Institute of Justice funded this comprehensive longitudinal multisite process, implementation, and short-term outcome evaluation. Exploratory in nature, the study examined a convenience sample of eight VTC programs across three Southern states (Florida, North Carolina, and Texas) between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2019. The purpose of this study was to better understand the various veterans treatment court (VTC) program structures, policies, and procedures/practices, populations served (substance misuse, mental health issues), and basic program and participant outcomes (graduation and termination rates, and recidivism in terms of arrest, respectively).

For additional information, please view the project page and contact the study’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Julie Marie Baldwin.

MOSAICS
We assist courts in implementing trauma-responsive policies to identify survivors of human trafficking, respond to the needs of survivors with a range outcomes in their cases, and reduce the infliction of harm on survivors during legal proceedings.

JustLeadershipUSA Training Curriculum Development and Curriculum Evaluation 
SPA faculty and staff, in partnership with JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA) is developing a leadership training curriculum for returning citizens who are mid-senior level leaders heading efforts in community organizing and advocacy.  

Assessing Racial and Ethnic Disparities Assessment within Drug Treatment Courts 
SPA faculty and staff, in partnership with the Center for Court Innovation is providing training and technical assistance services to state and local drug court administrators on assessing racial and ethnic disparities within treatment courts. As part of this initiative, we assist drug court administrators in completing an online Racial and Ethnic Disparities Program Assessment Tool (RED tool), results from which will assist treatment court professionals identify and examine areas where racial and ethnic disparities may exist in their court programs. During the project period, we are working with treatment courts in three states on completing the RED tool, aggregating statewide data, conducting data analysis and producing a statewide assessment report for select states.

Veterans Treatment Court Enhancement Initiative
We are developing and administering a training and technical assistance for specialized screening, assessment, and case planning tools for veterans treatment courts (VTCs). The project team will also work with pilot court sites to integrate the tools into existing court procedures and practices and provide ongoing technical assistance to address any implementation issues that arise.

Right to Counsel National Campaign
We lead a national awareness campaign to inform and engage policymakers, criminal justice stakeholders, and the public on the importance of meaningfully carrying out the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the effective delivery of public defense services.

The Justice in Government Project
We provide strategic guidance to state and local officials seeking to leverage civil legal aid to achieve their policy and programmatic goals and ensure the maximum benefit from dollars spent on low- and moderate-income people and communities.