Justice Solutions Group (JSG)

May 18-21, 2010 - Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian County (PACIFIC) Workshop, Minneapolis, MN

Workshop: The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) retained Justice Solutions Group to develop and deliver a workshop on Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian Country (PACIFIC Workshop). The PACIFIC Workshop will be presented to those tribes that received BJA Planning Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands (Planning Grants) under the FY 2009 competitive grant program.

Speakers: Justice Solutions Group: Shelley Zavlek, Anthony H. Jones, Tom Weber, Dan Russell, Dan Ryan, BJ Jones, Major Robinson, Mike McMillen, Peter Krasnow, Boyd Robinson, Perry Mitchell;

April 5-9, 2010 - Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian County (PACIFIC) Workshop, Phoenix, AZ

Workshop: The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) retained Justice Solutions Group to develop and deliver a workshop on Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian Country (PACIFIC Workshop). The PACIFIC Workshop will be presented to those tribes that received BJA Planning Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands (Planning Grants) under the FY 2009 competitive grant program.

Speakers: Justice Solutions Group: Shelley Zavlek, Anthony H. Jones, Tom Weber, Dan Russell, Dan Ryan, BJ Jones, Major Robinson, Mike McMillen, Peter Krasnow, Boyd Robinson, Perry Mitchell;

May 18-22, 2009 - Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian County (PACIFIC) Workshop, Chandler, AZ

Workshop: The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) retained Justice Solutions Group to develop and deliver a workshop on Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian Country (PACIFIC Workshop). The PACIFIC Workshop will be presented to those tribes that received BJA Planning Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands (Planning Grants) under the FY 2009 competitive grant program.

Speakers: Shelley Zavlek, Mark Martin, Dan Ryan, BJ Jones, Major Robinson, Dan Russell, and Anthony H. Jones

April 27-May 1 2009 - Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian County (PACIFIC) Workshop, Chandler, AZ

Workshop: The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) retained Justice Solutions Group to develop and deliver a workshop on Planning Alternatives & Correctional Institutions For Indian Country (PACIFIC Workshop). The PACIFIC Workshop will be presented to those tribes that received BJA Planning Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands (Planning Grants) under the FY 2009 competitive grant program.

Who Should Attend: The workshop is intended for project managers and other representatives of those tribes that have received

Speakers: Shelley Zavlek, Mark Martin, Dan Ryan, BJ Jones, Major Robinson, Dan Russell, and Anthony H. Jones

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

December 9, 2008 - Interdepartmental Tribal Justice, Safety & Wellness, Training and Technical Assistance Session 8, Palm Springs, CA

Workshop: The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) recently awarded twenty-two grants under the Planning of Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands Discretionary Grant Program (PCFTL). The purpose of the awards are to help applicant tribes develop strategies to cost effectively plan facilities associated with the incarceration and rehabilitation of juvenile and adult offenders subject to tribal jurisdiction. BJA also awarded a grant to Justice Solutions Group (JSG) to administer the Planning Alternatives and Correctional Institutions For Indian Country (PACIFIC) Project, an initiative designed to provide training and technical support to tribes receiving planning grant awards.

The PACIFIC Project is primarily focused on developing a weeklong training program on a systemic approach to planning new detention and correctional institutions that builds on the lessons learned over the past decade of facility development initiatives in Indian Country. The PACIFIC Project also involves other types of off-site technical support for grantees over the course of their planning grant award periods. The purpose of this workshop is to provide an overview of the PACIFIC Project and the process for assessing the needs of a tribal justice system. Attendees will receive information about the training and assistance that is available under the PACIFIC Project, approximate dates for the training program, contact information, and an overview of the systemic approach to facility planning that will be emphasized in the initiative. Grantee representatives will also have time to share information about their respective projects during the workshop and will have the opportunity to meet with JSG staff as needed following the workshop to further discuss technical assistance needs.

Who Should Attend: The workshop is intended for project managers and other representatives of those tribes that have received PCFTL awards as well as representatives of other tribes that are interested in assessing their own justice system needs.

Speakers: Justice Solutions Group: Shelley Zavlek, Mark Martin, Dan Russell, and Anthony H. Jones

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) in the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ), and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Indian Health Service (IHS), Office of Minority Health (OMH) in the Office of the Secretary; U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through its Office of Native American Programs (ONAP); the Small Business Administration (SBA); and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

November 29, 2007 - Tribal Justice and Safety, Training and Technical Assistance Session 5 , Santa Ana Pueblo, NM

Workshops:

1) Planning and Operating State-of-the-Art Correctional Facilities in Indian Country: Since 2002 BJA has awarded over $90,000,000 through the Construction of Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands Discretionary Grant Program to 26 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to build new detention and correctional facilities or renovate existing facilities. As of Fall 2007, 18 of these tribes have completed construction of their facilities and 8 are actively engaged in various stages of design, construction and/or renovation. This workshop will begin with a slideshow presenting various features of the new facilities. The workshop will then address two key components of planning new correctional facilities in Indian Country: 1) Planning within the community to assess the need for secure facilities and ways to limit over-reliance on secure detention; and 2) Innovative ways to fund creative correctional programming in Indian Country.

2) Planning a Brighter Future for Indian Country Corrections: In September 2006, the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Bureau of Indian Affairs collaborated to conduct a three-day Tribal Working Group in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Planning for the Future of Corrections and Detention in Indian Country. Participants in the Forum included the BJA and BIA management personnel, representatives of 10 tribes that had recently built and opened new correctional facilities, and national experts on Indian Country jails and non-custody alternatives to incarceration. Based on the Tribal Working Group presentations, workshops and participant feedback, preliminary recommendations for the future of detention and corrections in Indian Country were drafted. This workshop will present the preliminary recommendations developed by the Tribal Working Group, followed by an open forum to seek feedback and additional ideas and input from workshop attendees. The results of this session will be shared with BJA, BIA and all workshop attendees.

Speakers: Shelley Zavlek, M.S. Ed., JD, President, Justice Solutions Group, Hon. B.J. Jones and Tyler Lastiyano

B.J. Jones , Executive Director of the Tribal Judicial Institute (TJI) and law professor at the University of N. Dakota School of Law, has devoted his law practice to serving indigent residents of South and North Dakota Indian reservations and adjoining counties. His areas of expertise include federal entitlements, Indian law, domestic relations and health law. Judge Jones has served for over 18 years as a tribal judge for various Tribes in the Northern Plains area, where he has been recognized for innovative community-based initiatives to confront alcohol and drug abuse. Judge Jones, through TJI, has overseen the Tribal Court Assistance Program, which provides American Indian and Alaska Native communities with resources (funding, technical assistance, etc.) to develop, implement, and enhance the operation of tribal judicial systems.

Tyler Lastiyano is the Corrections Administrator for the Pueblo of Zuni. Mr. Lastiyano provided project management and oversight for the Pueblo of Zuni in the development of its 40-bed adult and juvenile detention facility. The facility was completed in 2005 and commenced operations early in 2006. Mr. Lastiyano, as facility administrator, has developed innovative programs for inmates and youth. With limited operational funding, Mr. Lastiyano has found creative methods to finance programs that are critical to rehabilitating and ensuring the success of tribal members that leave his facility.

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, in collaboration with: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Minority Health, and Indian Health Service; U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Office of Native American Programs; and the Small Business Administration (SBA)

October 15-18, 2006 - National Symposium on Juvenile Services, Las Vegas, NV

Organized by the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS), the conference provides training, focus groups and policy discussions led by nationally recognized individuals at the federal, state, local, organizational and private sector level(s). Workshop training will address topics related to:

Juvenile Detention Services
Juvenile Corrections/Institutions
Education of Youth in Confinement
Community Based/Residential Care
Presentation Skills & Training
Techniques Critical Management Issues
Mental Health Issues in Juvenile Justice
Heath Care Issues in Managing Juvenile Populations

Shelley Zavlek, President of JSG, is the former Chair of the NPJS

September 19-21, 2006 - Planning for the Future of Detention and Corrections in Indian Country, Albuquerque, NM

The conference will present preliminary findings of an ongoing study on Indian Country detention facility needs that is being overseen by BIA's Office of Facility Management and Construction. In addition, there will be a discussion of critical topics relating to:

Tribal Justice System planning;
Alternatives to Incarceration;
Tribal Courts; and
Prototype and Proto-similar Tribal Correctional Facilities in Indian Country.

Conference facilitators: Shelley Zavlek and Anthony Jones, in conjunction with Justice Planners International.

August 14, 2006 - American Correctional Association, Congress of Corrections, Charlotte, NC

Workshop: Juvenile Justice System Reform: Planning a System of Care That Works! Although serious juvenile crime rates have been declining over the past decade and, as of 2001, were at their lowest level since 1983, the rate at which youth have been placed in confinement in the United States nearly doubled between 1979 and 2001. Many of the youth housed in today's large, secure juvenile facilities do not require the level of security these facilities were designed to provide. Furthermore, research suggests that simply "locking kids up" in such facilities is an ineffective and unnecessarily expensive approach to helping troubled youth and reducing juvenile crime. This panel will present steps to take in planning and implementing juvenile justice system reforms that reduce unnecessary reliance on secure confinement of youth and improve services and outcomes for youth who come in contact with the juvenile justice system. The panel members will discuss secure confinement as part of a system of care that also includes prevention, comprehensive services, graduated sanctions and aftercare. Each panelist will focus on providing concrete examples of the most successful components of statewide reform initiatives implemented in their States in recent years.

Moderator: Shelley Zavlek, M.S. Ed., JD, President, Justice Solutions Group, Closter, New Jersey, and President, Council for Educators of At-Risk and Delinquent Youth (CEARDY). Shelley Zavlek is featured on the cover of the Planning Guide for ACA's 137th Annual Congress of Corrections, Kansas City, MO, with panelist from the Juvenile Justice Reform panel noted above.

Speakers: Howard Beyer, M.S., Executive Director, New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, Trenton, New Jersey; Barry Green, M.S., Director, Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, Richmond, Virginia; Albert Murray, M.S., Commissioner, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Decatur, Georgia; George L. Sweat, B.S., B.A., Secretary, North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, Raleigh, North Carolina.

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