Pilot Training Programs – Three states were chosen to be pilot sites for the project– Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Wisconsin with multidisciplinary teams from the justice system representing judges, prosecutors, probation officers, state judicial educators, court administrators, social workers, and district attorneys participating in the training.

• In August 2007 we completed a two-day Train the Trainer session for representatives from each pilot site at The National Judicial College on the resource guide, how to use the materials and information most effectively, and the importance of working together to form an integrative system of care.
• Following the Train the Trainer session each pilot team defined the focus of their local initiative and have been working with leadership from their region including: justice, treatment providers, Single State Agency (SSA), law, medicine, and community coalitions, and policymakers. Each pilot working with PLNDP will, if they have not already, sponsor a local conference to present the use of the resource guide, convene a panel on implementing evidence based practices in the community and discuss challenges to overcome local issues. Through these trainings we hope to develop resources and partners that will continue working together in the future in this effort.
• In addition to the training, PLNDP will work with each pilot site to develop a resource section of the guide specifically targeted for their region on the needs as defined in their conference.

Participants in the Wisconsin Training, June 11, 2008 Co-sponsored by: Wisconsin Superior Court, WI Office of Judicial Education, The Johnson Foundation, and PLNDP.

Chatham, MA. Massachusetts Training, April 3, 2008. Co-sponsored by: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Administrative Office of the Trial Court – Judicial Institute and the Administrative Office of the Juvenile Court Department, and PLNDP. (left to right) Kathryn Cates-Wessel, PLNDP Executive Director, Hon. Terry . Craven, J.D., Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., Charles O’Brien, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Justice Martha P. Grace, and David C. Lewis, M.D.

Massachusetts
On April 2, 2008 the Massachusetts Judicial Education Team chose to focus on the adolescent and family courts for their local initiative. PLNDP presented at the MA Juvenile Court Judges Spring Conference hosted by Chief Justice Martha Grace, who is also a member of PLNDP Judicial Leadership Council. Presentations by PLNDP leaders were provided and included Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., who focused on co-occurring disorders, Charles O’Brien, M.D., Ph.D., who focused on the broad spectrum of treatment, specifically pharmacotherapy, and David Lewis, M.D., who spoke on the need for law and medicine partnerships to advocate for evidence based polices and to work collaboratively on a local level for integrated systems approach.

The MA Team plans to follow up with a meeting of key state leadership from the Departments of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Secretary of Health, police and others to re-examine how to more effectively address mental health and substance abuse  issues confronting the courts better integrated in the systems (see photo below).

Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Judicial Education Pilot Team hosted a conference in Racine, WI on June 11, 2008 co-sponsored by the WI Supreme Court, WI Office of Judicial Education, a local WI foundation The Johnson Foundation, and PLNDP. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, also a member of the PLNDP Judicial Leadership Council, was instrumental in creating the WI effort. The meeting participants included representatives from the WI Superior Court Judges, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Corrections, probation, juvenile corrections, and medicine. The goals of the WI meeting were to educate participants on a few topics from the resource guide in the first half of the day and in the afternoon develop a strategic plan and a timeline for achieving short and long-term goals for promoting evidence based practices for the state of WI. A summary report of this meeting will be available in August. Presentations were made by Richard Brown, M.D., MPH on WI data and treatment needs, Dean Krahn, M.D. on handling mental health and substance abuse disorders and David Lewis, M.D., PLNDP leadership who advocated for law and medicine partnerships (see photo below).

Rhode Island
The RI Team, spearheaded by Chief Justice Frank Williams of the RI Superior Court and Chief Judge Albert E. DeRobbio of the District Courts are developing a state-wide conference for all judges, prosecutors, police, court administrators, and representatives from legislators participating in a one-day meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 16, 2008. Additional materials from this conference will be posted following the September meeting.