Pilot Projects

 

The Seventeenth Judicial District was involved in three unique pilot programs directed at dealing with a more systematic approach to more effectively resolving current issues of concern in the judicial department.  The programs were:  1)  The District Court Simplified Civil Procedure (Proposed Rule 1.1) Project which was intended to develop a method of finding a more expeditious and cost-effective method of handling District Court civil cases; 2)  The Family Court Project which was a more family-oriented, focused approach in dealing with troubled families presenting with a myriad of legal issues; and  3)  The Truancy Reduction Project which was intended to find an effective method to deal with habitually truant children by focusing on a family-oriented intervention to reintegrate children back into the public school system.

The District Court Simplified Civil Procedure (Proposed Rule 1.1, C.R.C.P.) Project.  The  Seventeenth Judicial District was one of only two judicial districts in the State of Colorado participating in the District Court Simplified Civil Procedure Project.  

The District Court Simplified Civil Procedure Project was an innovative attempt to expedite the litigation in certain cases by consent of the parties.   Many District Court civil cases have become impossible for litigants to litigate because of the enormous cost of pre-trial discovery.  The project was intended to make the court more responsive to cases where the issues may be litigated with limited discovery, thus reducing the delay before trial and reducing the cost to the litigants.  The program was a model for Rule 16.1 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.

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The Family Court Pilot Project

The Family Court Pilot Project developed a comprehensive set of  policies and procedures to accomplish the objective of better coordinating services to families with a multiplicity of problems.

The Family Court Pilot Project recommendations were incorporated into the Seventeenth Judicial District Plan for Handling Dependency and Neglect Cases. 

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The Seventeenth Judicial District Truancy Reduction Project.

The Seventeenth Judicial District Truancy Reduction Project is a cooperative effort which involves children, their parents, the Adams County school districts and the court in an attempt to reduce truancy rates in the public schools within the Seventeenth Judicial District.  The program was developed by  Magistrate Johnny Charles Barajas and is supervised by District Court Judge Chris Melonakis. 

The project employs a progressive series of steps, ultimately involving judicial intervention, to resolve issues pertaining to juvenile truancy from school.  First, schools identify truant families and use internal measures to promote school attendance.  Once those internal measures are exhausted, families with truant children under the age of fifteen are summonsed by school districts to meet with the Seventeenth Judicial District Truancy Case Manager.  Families who choose not to participate in the program, who do not appear to meet with the Truancy Case Manager as scheduled or families with children who are truant and over the age of fifteen go through a court adjudication process.

The Truancy Case Manager interviews the truant family and develops a Family Services Plan.  The development of this plan includes input from the family, supporting agencies and the truant's school.  The plan is reviewed with the truant family and initiated.  The Truancy Case Manager monitors the plan and family's participation in an attempt to ensure that  the plan is reducing truant behavior.
 
    Once a child's truant behavior is abated, a memorandum of accomplishment is filed by the Truancy Case Manager with the referring school district and the truant's parent or guardian.  The successful child and his or her family are invited to an awards ceremony at the court.  The child is honored for his or her accomplishment in completing the program and is presented with a certificate of accomplishment.  Any truancy court proceedings commenced against the family are then dismissed.

The project has been expanded to include an Education Mentor Program.  To review the Education Mentor Program visit the Truancy Reduction Project/Education Mentor Program site.

 

  

Former Magistrate Johnny Charles Barajas and Successful Participants in Seventeenth Judicial District Truancy Program

Honorable Cindy Bruner Presents A Certificate of Completion to Truancy Program Graduate
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