Healing Court Program

The mission of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Healing Court is to provide access to services and the option of court diversion for justice-involved people who struggle with substance use disorders, to build on their strengths and to give them the tools necessary to become successful members of their community. It should be noted that this is a diversionary court and hearings are culturally safe, trauma-informed, and support behavioral changes in a positive and non-adversarial manner, as opposed to punitive and adversarial.

The Healing Court will actively supervise and support the participant’s individual treatment or sobriety plan by guiding each participant through an individualize process. Each plan will identify and promote appropriate services, monitoring and accountability to facilitate healing and recovery so the participant can be the best they can be for themselves, their family, and their community. Punishment is not conducive to healing and recovery and is not the goal of the Healing Court.

The Healing Court adopts the following goals to assist participants:

• Maintain law abiding behavior while participating in the Healing Court, and continued
  after Healing Court.
• Increase the duration of their sobriety and develop skills to recover from relapse.
• Reconnect with their culture and community as defined by the participant.
• Improve their life skills and improve life outcomes.
• Development of a support system or plan that promotes their sobriety after graduation.

The Healing Court is a voluntary option offered to justice-involved individuals to divert their criminal cases at the following junctures:

• Before charges are filed;
• After charges are filed;
• Before or after petitions to revoke deferred prosecutions are filed;
• Post-adjudication, before petitions to revoke deferred sentences, or suspended sentences
  are filed; or,
• Post-adjudication,

The Healing Court Team is composed of justice stakeholders who are committed to an
alternative, non-punitive method to address issues that bring people into the justice system. The team must be committed to the success of participants. The team includes: A tribal court judge, the Healing Court Coordinator, a behavioral health provider, a representative from the Tribal Prosecutors Office, a representative from the Tribal Defenders Office (TDO), a TDO case manager, the TDO cultural liaison, a tribal probation officer, a member of the Tribal Council, a tribal police representative, a drug testing or electronic monitoring representative, and community partners or agencies as needed to meet participant needs. The Team will practice trauma-informed and motivational interviewing practices and will be offered training in both.