How the El Dorado and Shingle Springs Family Wellness Court Uses Alternative Methods to Serve Tribal Youth and Families

The first of its kind in California, the joint-jurisdictional Family Wellness Court in El Dorado County hears a wide range of cases and uses strategies not often seen in traditional state courts to address justice-involved tribal youth in the areas of juvenile, child welfare, domestic violence, and criminal.

Superior Court of El Dorado County Judge Gary Slossberg and Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Chief Judge Victorio Shaw shared their insights about the court today, how the county and tribe partner in the collaborative court, and how they've seen court participants succeed.

The Family Wellness Court began as a measure to reduce truancy within tribal youth. Would you say most of the cases you deal with now have to do with truancy? What kind of cases do you deal with now?

Judge Gary Slossberg: I'm currently working on one adult case and a handful of juvenile cases. I've had at most six cases at one time. Because of the nature of the case type, some of the cases have a long life. Sometimes you have a kid who has difficulties and they can be in Wellness Court for years. Like starting in middle school, they may have difficulties getting to school on time, grades, and turning in assignments, so it could be several years that a child is in the Wellness Court. Some of them do it all the way until they graduate. 

The tribal court is distinctive from the state court as they have a whole host of tools available that the state court doesn’t have including relationships. You have a case and there’s lots of people who know the family of the youth as they’re actively involved in the tribe, so that brings forward certain types of tools that you wouldn’t have in a state court system. 

Judge Victorio Shaw: The bulk of the cases are still related to truancy or to students just not passing their classes. But we’ve also looked into expanding to DUI cases and behavioral health. We’re working on an agreement with the county to do mental health diversion. They will potentially consider us doing a mirrored program through the tribe. That’s how we were able to expand to domestic violence cases. The county does have behavioral health diversion and that was actually recommended by Judge Slossberg’s predecessor as a program that we could mirror on the tribal side in the Family Wellness Court. We do have an MOU (memorandum of understanding) in place; we’re just waiting on approval by the county. 

If there was a tribal member that was charged with domestic violence, that case could be transferred post-adjudication to the Family Wellness Court. We would essentially monitor that individual’s progress in terms of their completion of the batterer’s intervention program, but we would also offer them tribal services like a Red Road class—which is a more traditional/cultural version of Alcoholics Anonymous—counseling, and any other services that we ascertain might benefit the individual. The idea is that we are able to help the individual in a more personalized way than the county would be able to and get them services that they can obtain on the reservation without having to leave and go to the county. There’s a cultural component, familiarity, and higher comfort level when they are able to get services through the tribe. 

What are some ways you’ve seen the Family Wellness Court succeed? 

Judge Slossberg: You see that kids do a 180-degree turnaround. They come in at first and are dismissive of the court, and over time, you see them have more trust and faith in the system. You also see the outcomes of them attending school more, getting better grades, and seeming more hopeful for the future. It creates a very supportive environment for the youth that are in crisis. 

Judge Shaw: Many students turn their academics around completely. I’ve had more than one student go from F’s to straight A’s. It wasn’t automatic, it took time and really ascertaining where the family was at. We just don’t look at the individual, we look at the whole family as often as part of the issue why a student is not succeeding.

We’re really able to customize what we do for each individual. Many times, they may need a place to study after school. Maybe they need rides to school, tutoring, or counseling. We might have to drug test them because there’s evidence they’re using substances. Through treating them and the family, we’ve graduated a number of students out of the program and out of high school who were frankly not passing or on track to graduate.

We’ve seen attitudes turn around. We’ve seen individuals get off of substances and get help through counseling. We’ve seen them get off drugs entirely and see their health and physical appearance improve. They glow., come out of their shell, and start talking and engaging with the community at traditional ceremonies and events. The court is an extension of their tribal family. It’s really evident that we care on a much deeper level with the amount of attention, consideration, and support. 

Can you share more about the importance of joint-jurisdiction courts and tribal/state partnerships? 

Judge Slossberg: The Family Wellness Court takes a different approach than the standard state family or juvenile court. The discussions in court are more open and free-flowing and take a team approach to solving the issues confronting youth. 

Sometimes youth in Wellness Court have the potential to be subject to the state juvenile justice system if they’re not trying to comply with Wellness Court orders. That can bring some leverage to the case, and it might get the child to pay attention a bit more.

Sometimes there are just differences in approach. The state court is more linear, like A-Z, whereas the tribal court is almost like a case management process where you have lots of different players in the room and it’s more of an open discussion. The state court's knowledge base, particularly regarding criminal, juvenile justice, and family law procedures in the surrounding county, can be drawn upon to give appropriate context to cases. With those two different ways of approaching the court system, you find a nice balance, which works well to keep the kids in check and helps give them the support they need to make some positive changes. 

Judge Shaw: The tribal members see themselves as part of the community that they reside in. This includes the county and we like to be good partners. We like to be responsible for our tribal citizens and their well-being. It’s all about decreasing recidivism and breaking the cycles of trauma and substance abuse, so if this program has a greater likelihood of success , it improves the overall well-being of the tribe in general and therefore the community at large. 

The tribe provides all the resources so it’s less resources the county has to expend. But if we are decreasing recidivism and breaking these cycles, then that means less cases that the county will have in the future. It also improves the level of respect between the tribe and the county when we work together on something that turns out to be a success. It shows that the tribal government and nation really cares about its people and puts time and resources into improving the lives of their citizens.

It really has garnered the mutual respect in the tribe and the county in that they see what we’re willing to do to improve the lives of tribal citizens. And we see what the county is willing to do in supporting the tribe and to respect the sovereignty of the tribe, the tribal government, and the tribal court as legitimate entities that make a difference in people’s lives. 

What advice/words of encouragement do you have for courts and entities that would like to begin their own joint-jurisdiction courts? 

Judge Slossberg: It’s been a valuable partnership for me. With the participants in the process, you get a lot out of it. It’s increased my awareness of the inner working of the tribe and allowed me to build and foster relationships, which is helpful for me professionally and practically with other things I do as a state court judge. Sometimes issues arise that relate to the tribe and it’s nice to have that background.

Also, it’s a refreshing process to be a part of. The setup of the court is different from the state court in ways that are very positive and beneficial for the youth. The outcomes are great for the kids. You see positive change in children which you know is going to make a difference in the long haul. It’s good to be in a process like that as things can be so negative in a court system. It’s great when you’re involved in it and you’re making real positive change. You definitely see it happen in these collaborative courts.

Judge Shaw: Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask if there are possibilities or potential to work together, especially when it comes to tribal youth. Both sides ultimately want the same thing and that is for young people to stay on the right track, to graduate, and be high functioning and well-adjusted adults. The tribe has a lot of resources and understanding of the tribal citizens. It can be an asset to the county and even show the county there are alternative ways to approach some of these issues.

Be patient. There are mutual concerns, interests, and benefits that are obtainable for both sides. If someone was to ask 30-40 years ago if this Family Wellness Court would be operating the way it is, people wouldn’t have believed it given the back history of the relationships there. But it really goes to show that whether you’re on the tribal or county side, we’re all trying to do the same thing, which is improve the lives of our community and it only makes sense to try to work together.