The Third Branch
'Evidence-based' training session held
By Amber Peterson and Erin Slattengren, Office of Court Operations
To address the problem of drug and alcohol abuse in the criminal justice and child welfare systems, the Director of State Courts Office offered a one-day training workshop titled Stop the Revolving Door: Evidence-Based Responses to Drug and Alcohol Use. The workshop was offered in each of the ten judicial districts and was funded by the former JEHT (Justice, Equality, Human dignity and Tolerance) Foundation and the Children's Court Improvement Program.
The faculty was comprised of Dr. Richard Brown, an associate professor at the UW Madison Department of Family Medicine; Judge Michael J. Rosborough, Vernon County Circuit Court; Judge Lisa K. Stark, Eau Claire County Circuit Court; Judge Mary Triggiano, Milwaukee County Circuit Court; and Donna Muller, a Wisconsin Department of Corrections field supervisor.
Because alcohol and substance abuse issues affect a wide spectrum of criminal justice and child welfare workers, the workshop's target audience consisted of judges, court commissioners, social workers, AODA counselors, district attorneys, public defenders, and Department of Corrections workers. More than 450 of these professionals participated in the trainings this fall. The faculty educated participants on the continuum of substance abuse and the cause of substance-use disorders.
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The training faculty for the 2009 district training on substance abuse and evidence-based practices include from left to right, Judge Mary Triggiano, Milwaukee County Circuit Court; Donna Muller, Dept .of Corrections Field Supervisor; Judge Lisa K. Stark, Eau Claire County Circuit Court; Judge Michael Rosborough, Vernon County Circuit Court; Dr. Richard Brown, associate professor, UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. |
Additionally, the audience learned how to assess a substance-using individual's risk to their children, families, and community and how to determine what sentence or treatment is most appropriate. A portion of the training, presented by Triggiano, addressed how evidence-based practices can be applied to the child welfare system.
"Evidence-based practices have an important role in child welfare cases. We know what works and what doesn't work, and we know that judges have to be leaders in developing programs that are going to make a difference for families."
A critical part of the training addressed action-planning on a local level, given the information presented throughout the program. Training participants broke into groups to develop action plans and discuss problem-solving strategies and opportunities on a local level. Using this collaborative approach, workshop participants were able to make connections with other agencies and justice system partners and enhance communication between professionals with similar goals.
Brown said the process is especially valuable because "justice and health professionals have a huge opportunity to make Wisconsin highways and communities safer by identifying and assisting people with alcohol and drug problems. I hope the workshop series leads to more collaboration between our professions."
Overall, the feedback gathered from participants was very positive. Many of them found Brown's presentation particularly useful. Specifically, the audience enjoyed learning about research related to the effect substance abuse has on people's brains, as well as the clinical definitions of substance abuse versus substance dependence. Several participants also found it valuable to bring numerous professions together, noting that it can often be difficult to communicate with, or even be aware of, different agencies that do similar work. Finally, many participants were excited to learn about treatment options in their communities that they hadn't realized were available.