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45 Colo. Law. 51 (2016)
Building a Culturally Competent Problem-Solving Court

handle is hein.barjournals/cololaw0045 and id is 395 raw text is: JUDGES' CORNER Building a Culturally Competent Problem-Solving Court by Jami Vigil Problem-solving courts are, first and foremost, courts, charged with safeguarding and advancing the constitutional rights of all citizens to due process and equal protection under the law. Building a problem-solving court team that is culturally com- petent and appropriately responsive to all participants is an arduous task, but it is necessary to ensure equal access to the courts. For this reason, problem-solving courts have an affirmative obligation to take reasonable actions to prevent or correct disparities that may exist in the implementation of their programs.2 This article dis- cusses cultural competence, which is one of the greatest challenges faced by problem-solving courts. In doing so, it reviews the steps one family drug court program has taken to meet this challenge. Ensuring Equal Access and Cultural Competence Problem-solving courts target many of the most complex, often multigenerational, and overlapping issues communities face. They target such issues as substance abuse, mental health needs, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, homelessness, unemployment, and truancy. While no two problem-solving court programs are identi- cal, all rest on a foundation of therapeutic jurisprudence, which is the premise that law is a social force that can have either a thera- peutic or an anti-therapeutic impact within the lives of individuals, families, and communities.3 Through its use of individualized treat- ment, community-based incentives, creative or therapeutic sanc- tions, trauma-informed practices, and the judicial officer as an edu- cator, the highly trained and multidisciplinary treatment team works together to further recovery and rehabilitation for program partici- pants. One significant hurdle for problem-solving courts, however, is ensuring cultural competence. Picture this: The courtroom is full of people for a large weekly family drug court docket. There are several dozen drug court par- ticipants and their family members, as well as caseworkers and counselors, a drug court coordinator, judicial assistants, numerous attorneys, and a judicial officer. The docket continues for several hours, with participants and their families watching and learning from their peers' interactions with the judicial officer. This weekly drug court appearance is much more than a routine hearing. It is a hands-on experiential learning opportunity, and participation is essential. Accountability, responsibility, and the development of good decision-making skills are actively rewarded for all to see. Par- ticipants learn from the experience and mistakes of their peers. A participant's culture, however, can drastically interfere with one's access to this learning opportunity. For example, if a partici- pant does not speak English, she will not get the full benefit of drug court. In particular, if a participant lacks the language skills to understand the exchanges between the judicial officer and other participants, she will not benefit from others'experiences. Language is an easy example of how a participant's culture can impact access to the benefits of a problem-solving court's experiential learning opportunities. However, it is just one aspect of culture. Culture is the conceptual system held by a community or society that structures the way people view the world.4 It includes beliefs, norms, and values and influences ideas about relationships, what constitutes a family, parenting styles, and how individuals should live their lives.5 Being culturally competent is more than merely embracing diversity. A culturally competent court team recognizes cultural differences and works successfully with those participants whose values, traditions, basic assumptions, and perspectives differ from those of team members.' Through congruent attitudes, poli- cies, and procedures, the team may gain the ability to better re- spond to participants so that they have equal access to appropriate services fitting within their cultural framework or perspective.7 This in turn promotes treatment success for participants. For this reason, the court team should endeavor to be culturally responsive. This means learning what to say, how to say it, and when to say it, 1 _About the Author Jami Vigil has served as the presiding judicial officer for the Fourth Judicial District Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC) since October 2011. Magistrate Vigil handles a full juvenile docket, including dependency and neglect, adoption, relinquishment, paternity, and support cases. Prior to becoming a magistrate, she worked for many years in the areas of immigration, criminal, juvenile, and probate law. Magistrate Vigil would like to thank Andrea Sivanich, problem-solving coordinator for FTDC, for her assistance in reviewing this article. Judges' Corner is published quarterly to provide information Colorado judges would like to disseminate to attorneys. If you would like to suggest topics or write an article for this Department, please send an email to Coordinating Editor Stephanie Dunn, Colorado Court of Appeals Judge, at stephanie. dunn@judicial.state.co.us. The Colorado Lawyer | April 2016 | Vol. 45, No. 4 51

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