KLEPS SITE VISITREGIONAL

COURT & LIBRARY

PARTNERSHIP

Monterey, San Benito

Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Courts

A Short Video

How “It” All BeganCommunity-Focused Planning

• Statewide Conference, “Courts and Their Communities”

• Strategic planning at a local level

• Involving the Community to renew public trust and confidence

• Improving Access

• Judicial Council support for outreach to the community

• Courts identified interested groups in the community

• Focus groups used in strategic plan development

May 1998

1998-99

Strategic Plans & Self-Help Planning Grants

• Strategic Plans for Providing or Improving Services submitted to the Judicial Council

• Strategic plans aligned with the Judicial Council’s mission and goals

• Included services for self-represented

• Self-Help Planning Grants Regional Approach - Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz take a Regional Approach

• Survey court users, court staff and legal service providers

• Law school externs study clerks’ windows to assess impact of SRL’s on the time it takes to process cases

FY2000-01

FY2001-02

Self-Help Planning Grants

• Developed a list of entities willing to partner with the courts in delivering self-help services

• Santa Clara joined the consortium. Emphasis switched from identifying resources that could provide support to developing those resources

• Developed formal regional volunteer programs in the four courts

• Developed library partnership

FY2002-03

FY2005-06

Regional Court & Library Partnership

• Self-Help Planning Grant

• Need – Bring services into the community

• Libraries – a Natural partnership?

• $25,000 ($60,000 request)

• Met with reps from local libraries and the courts to brainstorm

Regional Court & Library Partnership

• Focus – Training librarians on legal sites on the internet and local resources

• Developed MOU between Courts to provide trainers

• Contracted with Peninsula Library System

• Manage the Project (priceless!)

• Follow-up, reports, statistics

• Maintain Regional Library intranet site

MOU BETWEEN

THE COURTS

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

• Taught at library computer labs if available

• Created internal webpage for Librarians

• http://www.systemref.org/law.htm

• Training schedule/Registration

• Handouts

• Still Maintained – more legal resources

• Design and delivery of Bookmarks

• Design and delivery of MyLO folders

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT• 6 Training sessions for Librarians

• Santa Clara – 4

• Santa Cruz – 1

• Monterey – 1

• Trainers • Self-Help Center Supervisor from each court

• AOC for legalselfhelp.ca.gov

• Public Interest Clearinghouse for lawhelpca.gov

• San Mateo Superior Court for EZLegalFile.org

AGENDA

DISCUSSION – OUTCOMES What we learned: Librarians

• Court and Justice system

• Legal websites

• Self-Help Center Services• “A Day in the Life” at a SHC

DISCUSSION – OUTCOMESWhat we learned: Courts

• Working with counterparts in other counties

• Public Libraries

• Similarities with Librarians

• “Train the Trainer” most effective (follow-on public trainings )

REPLICATION

• Funding not necessary… but highly desirable!• Set a meeting

• Discuss patron needs

• Find similarities of interests

• Start with same curriculum

• Maximize each others’ strengths