Item #3 Downtown Austin Community Court DACC — original pdf

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DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT Public Safety Commission April 1, 2024 Robert Kingham, Court Administrator Christopher Anderson, Court Operations Manager DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT Established in 1999 • 1st Community Court in Texas • 7th Community Court in United States Mission Statement • Empowering people to thrive by providing impartial justice and compassionate community-based services Address root causes of justice involvement • Intensive and compassionate wrap around services OPERATIONAL AREAS Homeless Services Court Services Customer Service Walk-in Case Management Courtroom Support Intensive Case Management Case Flow Management Outreach Clinical Diversion Program Community Services Support Services Community Service Program Violet KeepSafe Storage Planning & Strategic Development Procurement & Contract Management Communication and Public Information PRIMARY AND EXPANDED JURISDICTION • Class C criminal offenses in Downtown, West Primary Jurisdiction Campus and East Austin Expanded Jurisdiction (Ord. No. 20231214-006) • Citywide jurisdiction for Prop. B & State camping band and DACC Top 10 offenses • Expansion provides more equitable access to resources • Data reflects violations included in expanded jurisdiction are the most likely for people to need access to the services available at DACC HOMELESS SERVICES  DACC has helped connect 550+ clients to housing since 2015 through Intensive Case Management  DACC has a waitlist of more than 300 individuals MOBILE COURT OVERVIEW DACC MOBILE COURT OVERVIEW How it began: • Previous site visits and best practice research by DACC • Judge Coffey asked staff to develop a mobile court strategy • Created by Council Resolution 20230816-016 Overall purpose: • Community-based program - meeting people where they are already engaging in services • Connect individuals with solutions for resolving outstanding cases and warrants • Immediate connection to services through case manager DACC MOBILE COURT PROGRESS How it works: • Court case checks & education about DACC services • Virtual access to judge and prosecutor • Case manager onsite Service day frequency and locations: • Approximately 5 service days per month during Pilot period • Austin Public Health Neighborhood Centers, Austin Public Library, North Bridge Shelter, Pop-up Resource Clinics, Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, The Charlie Center at Mosaic Church During the 18 events in the Pilot period of October 18, 2023 through February 5, 2024:  383 individuals had their court case status checked by DACC  125 individuals had one or more open AMC or DACC court cases  35 individuals participated in a DACC Mobile Court hearing  69 cases were docketed for these individuals  48 warrants were cleared  8 individuals were enrolled into DACC’s CDP for ongoing case management MOBILE COURT PILOT DATA THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS Findings • Agile approach to service innovations • Program aligned with DACC’s community court model • Meaningful outcomes for program participants • Services rooted in building trust and addressing barriers THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS Recommendations • Implement a sustainable, fully staffed, DACC Mobile Court Program. • Continue and expand upon stakeholder engagement to scale Mobile Court implementation. • Study the impact on existing requests for current DACC services with the addition of Mobile Court to inform further DACC staffing needs and growth. • Invest in Mobile Court transportation resources and technology. TIMELINE & NEXT STEPS Future of Mobile Court Ongoing stakeholder engagement opportunities DACC welcomes opportunities to participate in broader community conversations about systemwide approach to criminal justice system diversion QUESTIONS?