What data do you need to measure recidivism and how do you collect it? These were the difficult questions the 20th Judicial Circuit Court in Ottawa County, Michigan had and their recovery court coordinator, Andy Brown, shares the lessons he learned in answering them.

 The Florida courts are in their second year of a communications plan. Hear Florida Communications Counsel Craig Waters and Deputy Director of Communications Tricia Knox talk about how social media helped the courts communicate with the public during last year’s hurricane season -- and other successes that have resulted from the court’s comprehensive plan. 

Judge Jennifer Bailey, with Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami, led her court’s civil division through the foreclosure crisis from 2008 to 2012. In this episode, Judge Bailey discusses how the court’s employees dug their way out of that crisis with successful case management and how their current civil justice pilot project is succeeding despite hurricanes and technological challenges.

 Many people have heard of a guardian ad litem, a lawyer who represents the interest of a child in family court matters. But how about parent representation? It is what it sounds like, providing legal representation to families that can’t afford it, but it’s much less known. Carlyn Hicks, a senior staff attorney and clinical adjunct professor at Mission First Legal Aid Office at Mississippi College School of Law, is spearheading efforts to make parent representation in child welfare cases a reality for Mississippi families. 

When it comes to child welfare, we’ve become a nation that often fails to anticipate problems forcing us to react without enough information. This problem sometimes causes courts and agencies to separate children and parents, highlighting how our foster care system in many states is broken and dysfunctional. Dr. Jerry Milner, acting commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, has spent four decades trying to strengthen the child welfare system. 

Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50. Listen as Carl M. Dawson, a counselor from Springfield, Missouri, talks about the brain chemistry that can lead to addiction, the latest research on treatment options, and what courts can do to help those individuals with drug problems who come into the courts. 

The opioid epidemic is taking a devastating toll on American families, communities, and health care workers across America. It’s also playing out in courtrooms across the country. Judge J.H. Corpening, chief district judge in Wilmington, NC, is on the frontlines this overwhelming crisis. But he’s also on the forefront of finding answers of how courts can be a part of the solution. 

The misuse of opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain medicines is a devastating public health crisis, but it also is critically affecting our nation’s courts. The number of children in foster care because of parental substance abuse has nearly tripled since 2012, and drug overdose deaths are at record highs. Top state court leaders have formed a task force to find solutions, examine current efforts, and make recommendations to address the opioid epidemic’s ongoing impact on the justice system. Task force co-chairs, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush and Tennessee State Court Administrator Deborah Taylor Tate, discuss efforts courts are taking to address this situation.