Court Resource Center - https://www.co.pierce.wa.us/5703/District-Court-Resource-Center - 901 Tacoma Ave, Tacoma, WA (Hess Building). 

• Dominique Hardeman, Pierce County District Court - dominique.hardeman@piercecountywa.gov
• I presented back in January when we were just getting started (oh yes you did – notes at
• All partners now in Court Resource Center (CRC) -- One stop shop – started as a way for justice involved individuals to get involved as soon as possible.  They have a much higher success rate if they connect to resources.
• Goal is to connect at the critical moment of release.
• Original target was folks on probation.  Started with clothing bank.  Defendants often have no contact order so can’t get clothes from their homes.  Or folks that are arrested in the summer don’t have cold weather clothes or job-hunting clothes.  One of our probation officers asked to use the clothing bank so she could look like everyone else – not someone looking to buy or sell. 
• Next need: chemical dependency evaluations and Medicaid.  Often with Court order requiring all to be done in 30 days.  Was losing a lot of folks who were being set up to fail.  Court Resource Center now has 2 Substance resource organizations on site – Pioneer Human Services and Asian Counseling Treatment Services.  Have community health on site to enroll in Medicaid.  Housing providers.  Comprehensive Life Resources Homeless outreach team are present every Tuesday and Thursday.  Providers are starting to share information and case manage together to better serve the clients.  Having all these providers in one place lets them start to informally coordinate with each other, get chemical dependency evaluations etc.  Now doing things in one day that used to take many trips to many places that could take months.
• Trueblood team.  For those individuals in long term custody awaiting competency evaluations.  Trueblood class individuals are eligible for the services – helps people who are often being exploited on the streets.  The County, Catholic Community Services and Greater Lakes Mental Health put a proposal together and were funded.
• If you are released, not competent, no charges, TrueBlood team will help with housing, transition services.  Will stay with individuals 18 mo.
• Usually arrested to meet a basic need.  Often are getting exploited. 
• Can help find housing and subsidize rent that will need to be sustainable by the client. 
• Have a logjam – team members doing great but not enough of them. 
• Another new program: employment outreach.  Looking for employers that pay a bit higher, livable wage.  Lots of $$ in trades, including for women.  Many jobs open. Trying to build connections.  Every month the Court Resource Center will host an ‘employer of the month’ - a 2^nd chance employer – filled 31 with Fastenal last month.  Looking for employers that are “2^nd chance” employers.  Next event is on the 30^th – CDI from 8:30am-11:30am – refer them to the resource center then.   
• Can be ‘court involved’, but The Court Resource Center serves anyone, no matter circumstances.  TrueBlood team focused on the competency evaluation population, but everything else is open to everyone.  Competency evaluation is only about ability to participate in own defense.
• Have moved away from compliance-driven services to multi-service center.  Al – I’ve always thought multi-service centers was the best model.  What hurdles did you have to overcome?  Dom-  The Court Resource Center’s initial hurdle in setting up was the MOUs with everyone - DSHS particularly. Took a year to get DSHS signed up, but they offer SSI navigation, which I didn’t even know they had.  That has been great. 
• Larry – what about the education side – can you expand that?  Dom – right now, we have Bates, Pierce College and TCC, and they speak with our day reporters.  Day reporting is open to folks with court fines, and for 8 hours of time, get $150 off fines and can get their license back with assist from the Court Resource Center counselor-officer.  Can do Day Reporting instead of jail time, as well.  During the 8 hours, they have a life skills curriculum they work through – Medicaid, financial management, employment, etc.  Or they can spend the 8 hours on a work crew. Once you enter Day Reporting, any district court fine collections will be put on hold as well.  Working now on High School 21 for HS completion and GED.  Education is something we want to pursue – and we are open to ideas about how to do things better.  This resource center is built by
• Question – do you have FAFSA support? Dom - we didn’t know about that – come in and tell us more.
• Advice from Dominic: watch daily calendar – on the website and comes out daily to the listserv ( signup at http://www.pchomeless.org/Home/Listserv ).  Send people to classes at Court Resource Center.  If you even suspect a client might be a TrueBlood class member, call Dominic.
• Al – are there similar programs elsewhere?  Dom - gives his own personal background of trying to do this. Went to Washington County in Oregon which had a residential resource center. Multnomah County OR also doing cognative behavioral therapy.  The Court Resource Center just started a cognitive behavior program here – based on interactive journaling as a way to learn and start targeted work on changing behavior.  Treatment works.  Much more effective than compliance-driven approaches.
• The Day reporting program has two officers who have grown the program, developed the curriculum and recruit partners. 
• Drug Court – The Court Resource Center program called Drug Abuse Reduction Team (DART).  It is available for first time drug felony offenders – get the charge reduced to a misdemeanor.  If complete the 2 year program, get the misdemeanor charge dropped.  Graduates have ½ the recidivism rate. First 3 graduates yesterday – very different folks who used the supportive services to turn their lives around.  Folks also earned their way to housing resources.  It is a tough program up front – they are expected to phase into employment.  We do place a lot of obligations on these individuals – we hope to get folks to a better place.   
• Martha: problem is housing individuals early in their program.
• Anyone/everyone invited to come take a tour anytime – just drop in and see what is going on.