The Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts, an initiative of the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court, aims to bring innovative, evidence-based, and equitable interventions to Specialty Courts and related settings.
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In the Spotlight
Online Training Series: Working with Justice Involved Persons Who Use Methamphetamine
Helen Harberts, M.A., J.D.
Helen Harberts, M.A., J.D., has worked in criminal justice since 1983. She began as an district attorney to Chief Deputy District Attorney of the Criminal Division in Butte County, CA. As Chief Probation Officer (1995-2002), she implemented adult and juvenile drugs courts, DUI Court utilizing naltrexone, Domestic Violence Court, and Mentally Ill Offenders Court, all based on the problem-solving court model. After a stint in probation, she returned to prosecution, practicing law exclusively in problem-solving courts for over five years before retiring in 2011. She later served as Interim Director of the Harris County (Texas) Community Supervision and Corrections Department in Houston. In 2013, she was inducted into the Stanley
Goldstein Drug Court Hall of Fame for her contributions to treatment courts.
Ms. Harberts serves on the faculty oof the National Drug Court Institution, National Center for DWI Courts and (Now AllRise) National Judicial College. She has conducted site visits and training for SAMHSA and helped develop the 10 Guiding Principles of DWI Courts and the Practitioner’s Training Series for NADCP. She has contributed to the Judicial Benchbook and has trained in all 50 states and internationally. Ms. Harberts continues to consult and train on improving outcomes in treatment courts and supervision.
Training Description:
Working with people who use methamphetamine can be confusing for professionals, as methamphetamine use can present some unique issues and challenges. People who use methamphetamine may display behaviors that are easily misinterpreted as resistance or defiance. Court, treatment, and case outcomes improve when supervision, treatment, counsel, social services, health staff, and Court personnel know what to look for, what to expect, and how to address challenges.
This training will be packed with information and visuals for easy learning. Even though it is online, you will not be bored. Join us and bring your friends who need to know about this unique drug.
Learning Objectives:
- Develop literacy in how to recognize methamphetamine unique behaviors in clients
- Learn how to correctly respond with “what works” when addressing methamphetamine users in treatment courts, and in other settings.
- Translate training into practice with tools that will make you more effective as you address these complex issues.
Register Now
This training is hosted by the Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts.
Training Dates
Friday, April 4 | 1-3 pm
Dara Drawbridge & Jinnia Baiye
2024 Shannon Community Safety Initiative’s Local Action Research Partnership
Dr. Dara Drawbridge and Jinnia Baiye are funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s FY24 Shannon Community Safety Initiative to continue their work with Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster’s Tri-City Partnership as the Local Action Research Partner. The award provides funding to support the partnership in prevention and intervention efforts that address gangs and youth violence. In FY24, Dara and Jinnia will be joined by Alix Barry. The team will lead the initial piloting of the first-ever Tri-City Partnership’s Young Adult Advisory Board. The Young Adult Advisory Board (YAAB) will be comprised of a diverse group of young people between the ages of 18- 24 years who currently or previously lived in Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster areas and may have participated in the Tri-City Partnership’s Shannon-funded programming. The YAAB’s mission is to build an inclusive space where young people have an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions and provide input on the programmatic activities, policies, and strategies of the Tri-City Partnership and the wider communities in which they live.
Read more about the Shannon Community Safety Initiative here.
Dara Drawbridge
Jinnia Baiye
Alix Barry
Training for Recovery & Engagement in
Addiction Treatment (T.R.E.A.T) Initiative
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS), in collaboration with its partners, the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court, the New England Association of Recovery Court Professionals, AdCare Educational Institute, and the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Commonwealth Medicine received funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance under its Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant program, to fund a three-year training and technical assistance (TTA) initiative, the Recovery and Veterans Court TREAT Initiative – “Training for Recovery & Engagement in Addiction Treatment.”
The goal of this initiative is to strengthen the capacity of court clinicians and treatment providers working with specialty courts, with a focus on Massachusetts Adult Drug Courts and Veterans Treatment Courts.
