Trial Court awarded federal grant for substance use disorder treatment
Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi E. Brieger and Trial Court Administrator Thomas G. Ambrosino this week announced that the Trial Court has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will be used to pilot an initiative in Chicopee District Court and Holyoke District Court to connect court-involved individuals with substance use disorders to treatment and recovery services.
The Chicopee and Holyoke Access to Treatment and Services (CHATS) Project will allow each court to partner with Gándara Health, a treatment provider in western Massachusetts. Beginning in the spring of 2024, the grant will fund the full-time services of a peer recovery coach and a recovery support coordinator from Gándara in both courts daily who will link participants to health and social service providers in their communities.
The goal of the CHATS Project is to enhance public safety by reducing recidivism, opioid use and overdose deaths. Participation is voluntary and is available to anyone appearing before the courts on a criminal charge or a civil commitment for a substance use disorder. The CHATS Project differs from specialty courts, where treatment or services typically begin post-conviction. The project is part of an effort to expand access to treatment and services at every stage of court proceedings, beginning at an individual’s first court appearance.
UMass School of Public Health and Health Sciences will evaluate the project and will collect data on participation, engagement and outcomes to determine whether these efforts should be replicated and implemented in other courts. The Trial Court will work with UMass Professor Elizabeth Evans to evaluate program implementation and outcomes.
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USDC to host Black History Month
Judicial Roundtable, Feb. 23
Members of the legal community are invited to attend a Black History Month Judicial Roundtable on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m., in the Jury Assembly Room of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston.
The panel will feature Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd, U.S. District Court Chief Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell, U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley, Appeals Court Associate Justice Kenneth V. Desmond Jr. and U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper. Rayford A. Farquhar, deputy chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, will moderate the panel.
The event is sponsored by Discovering Justice, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bar Association for the District of Massachusetts Chapter, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts DEI Committee.
Click here to RSVP.
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Job Opening
Staff attorney for the Appeals Court
The Appeals Court is seeking to hire a staff attorney to work on a variety of legal assignments for the justices. Principal assignments will primarily focus on the editing of outgoing decisions, but also include the writing and screening of cases.
A staff attorney's role in editing decisions is to conduct a thorough review of the document to ensure substantive accuracy and compliance with the court's editorial and formatting requirements, and attention to detail is needed. While the focus of this position is editing, all staff attorneys are expected to edit, write and screen cases as needed.
Click here for more information and to apply.