Mississippi Band of Choctaw to Start Healing to Wellness Court for Youth

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will next month start a Healing to Wellness Court for youth.

The Youth HTWC is being adapted from the tribe’s successful Adult HTWC, established five years ago with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Wilma J. Simpson, who is with the tribe’s Office of Public Information, said 13 have graduated from the Adult HTWC and 16 are currently in the program.

A Tribal Juvenile Accountability grant, awarded in 2009 by the USDOJ’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is funding the Choctaw’s Youth HTWC for three years, with the first year a planning year. The tribe is hoping to start it on Oct. 1, 2010, Simpson said.

Also called “drug courts” or just “wellness courts,” healing to wellness courts are now part of many tribal judicial systems. While most that have been started are dedicated to adults, there are a few out there for youth. The Cherokee Nation, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians are just a few examples of tribes that have one for juveniles.

The overall goal of these courts is to rehabilitate the offender, rather than send him/her to prison. They generally include a referral to treatment services, monitoring alcohol and/or drug usage, random drug testing and supervising the progress of the participant’s treatment through frequent appearances in the wellness court. As a rehabbed offender is unlikely to offend again, these courts help reduce crime.

The Choctaw already has an advisory board for its Youth HTWC in place. It is comprised of representatives from the tribe’s Court Services, the Attorney General’s Office, Legal Defense, Police Department and Behavioral Health department. Board members will meet weekly with the judge to review the progress of each participant.

Simpson said it also has an eight-bedroom, dorm-style building, where participants will reside during their transition period.

For participants, progress (or compliance) will be monitored through periodic and random drug tests. Successful completion of the program will result in the dismissal of the charges against them.