Nine justice-reform programs for rural areas will get extra support and provide inspiration to other programs

Justice reform programs in nine rural communities have been identified as innovation sites under the "Reaching Rural Initiative" and will receive extra support to further their goals and provide inspiration to other emerging programs, says The Crime Report, published by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of the City University of New York.

The Rural Justice Collaborative and the National Center for State Courts launched the initiative last year because rural areas have complex justice issues that urban models often can't address, TCR says: "Although the problems of the justice system in urban areas have received the lion’s share of attention in the media, rural America is reeling from underfunded court systems, overcrowded jails―and has been especially hard hit by the opioid epidemic. Rural Americans are more likely than urban residents to be jailed, and to lack professional help for substance use and mental health issues. But efforts to export strategies that have worked in urban settings often fail in small communities or rural areas, where public health resources are strained."

Tara Kunkel, executive director of Rulo Strategies, which organized the collaborative, told TCR: "Before this, there has been no nationally concerted effort for justice leaders and their collaborators in other sectors to share what they know. The innovation sites provide a framework that others can build from." Selected sites will host leaders from other rural communities, discuss their strategies in webinars, and will get travel expenses for up to two regional trainings. The winners are:

• The Rural Incubator Project for Lawyers, in Montana, which has a 24-month fellowship program that trains and supports small legal practices that provide services to the poor.
• The Center for Empowering Victims of Gender-based Violence in Kansas, a research and collaboration center that puts domestic violence and human trafficking survivors on the road to economic freedom through social entrepreneurship.
• Texas Dispute Resolution System: Rural Mediation, which provides in-person and virtual mediation services for rural Texans as a dispute resolution alternative to the court system.
• South Carolina Victim Assistance Network Reaching Rural Initiative, which provides resources to crime victims remotely and in their own communities.
• Lazarus Recovery Services in North Carolina, which provides prevention and recovery support to people with substance-use disorders.
• Rural Attorney Recruitment Program in South Dakota, which recruits lawyers to practice for five years in rural counties where older attorneys are retiring with no replacements available.
• Public Defender Corporation Recovery Coach Project in West Virginia, which connects indigent criminal defendants with substance-use disorders to certified peer recovery coaches who arrange for substance use treatment opportunities immediately after a client is released from incarceration.
• Scott County Coordinated Community Response Team in northeast Tennessee, a multi-agency effort that provides various services and support to victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, human trafficking and sexual assault.
• Family Accountability and Recovery Court in North Carolina, which serves families involved in the child welfare system due to allegations of child abuse, neglect, or other parenting issues related to substance dependence.

The Rural Justice Collaborative is accepting applications for Innovation Sites through Jan. 17. Click here for more details or to apply.