According to a press release the same day, Justice Forward already serves clients, including veterans and youth involved in human trafficking and gang activity in all 18 Harris County Specialty Courts and two Galveston County Specialty Courts.
Essential services and incentives include counseling, recovery coaching, job coaching, transitional housing, transportation vouchers, gift cards and scholarships for tuition assistance, workforce development training and testing fees.
“We are looking forward to extending our support to the Fort Bend County Specialty Courts as they redefine the traditional justice system, which will inevitably reduce recidivism, improve public safety and transform lives in the process,” said Devon Anderson, CEO and president of Justice Forward, in a statement.
Specialty courts are used to help individuals with drug dependencies, mental illness and other societal challenges avoid incarceration by focusing on rehabilitation and introducing therapy-based solutions into the criminal justice system, per the release.
The Driving While Intoxicated Court, a comprehensive 12-24 month program for misdemeanor DWI offenders that offers individualized substance abuse treatment, education and peer support, is one of the specialty courts that will now receive services from Justice Forward.
The CORE Program—specialized intervention developed for adolescent females who are at risk or are victims of human trafficking by providing healthy mentoring and support, professional counseling and educational activities—is another that will benefit from the nonprofit’s extended services.
Finally, The Felony Mental Health Court—a judicially supervised program for individuals diagnosed with mental illness or an intellectual disability and led by Christian Becerra, presiding judge of Fort Bend County’s 434th District Court, will also receive fiscal support from Justice Forward.
“I think about the people we touch; I think about the troubled cases that we work with, and many times we are limited on what we can do because of funding issues that we have,” Becerra said at the press event. “This partnership is going to bring much-needed funding to the mental health department, and I look forward to a long partnership with Justice Forward.”
