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Judiciary Convenes Hawaii’s First Statewide Adult Drug Court Conference

Posted on Oct 25, 2022 in Featured News, News & Reports
Group photo of the First Circuit Drug Court Team members at the Statewide Adult Drug Court Conference, Ala Moana Hotel corridor, September 1.

Front left: First Circuit Judge Clarissa Malinao, Drug Court Supervisor Lei Kumagai, Drug Court Treatment Counselor Danielle Boter, Specialty Court Judge Trish Morikawa, Mental Health Court Probation Officer Kristal Brown, Drug Court Public Defender Jamie Nakano, Mental Health Court Probation Officer Virlie Servito. Middle: Social Service Assistant Jason Custino, Drug Court Probation Officer Troy Strickland, Drug Court Prosecutor Tana Kekina-Cabaniero, Mental Health Court Probation Officer Adam Nelson, Mental Health Court Supervisor Kristin Will. Top: Drug Court Probation Officer Stanford Puahi, Veteran’s Treatment Court Probation Officer Jerry Phetsaksith, and Specialty Court Administrator Jeffrey Galon.

The Judiciary convened Hawaii’s first-ever Statewide Adult Drug Court Conference, August 31 to September 1. Specialty court staff and partners from across the islands found it to be a valuable opportunity to engage with national experts discussing the latest research on treatment court best practices.

Thanks to funding from a federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant awarded to the First Circuit Drug Court program in 2020, a team of Judiciary staff was able to bring speakers from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) 2022 Annual Conference, “RISE22,” to present their findings and recommendations. The grant also provided the means for 33 treatment court personnel from Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Hawaii island to attend as part of their continuing professional education and training.

The State Department of Health’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division served as event co-sponsor, allocating funds for conference facilities at the Ala Moana Hotel and meals for the attendees.

“The conference would not have been possible without the team of people who contributed to the months of planning and coordination,” said Kathi Fujii, Program Specialist with the First Circuit’s Adult Client Services Branch.

“Some of Hawaii’s criminal justice and treatment court professionals are not able to attend the national conferences each year. The BJA grant enabled us to bring a significant component of the 2022 conference to Oahu. Eighty Judiciary staff members and judges from the drug courts, veterans courts, and mental health courts, had a rare opportunity to collaborate with prosecutors, public defenders, staff of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), volunteer mentors, and independent treatment providers at this conference. We learned strategies and best practices to work more effectively with clients, ensure greater consistency in the specialty court programs, and make our communities safer through reduced recidivism (i.e., the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend).

“The work of our treatment courts is important because the assistance that program participants receive directly benefits their family members, neighbors, communities, and especially their children – Hawaii’s next generation,” said Fujii.

The event began with keynote addresses by Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald and First Circuit Chief Judge R. Mark Browning. Guest speakers Shannon M. Carey, PhD; Vanessa Price; Steve Hanson M.S.Ed.; Helen Harberts, M.A., J.D.; Carol Venditto M.P.A.; Niki Wright, PsyD, CSAC made presentations on:

•  Drug Court Best Practices – Volumes 1 and 2
•  Trauma Informed Care
•  Drug Testing: Best Practices
•  Drug Testing: Myth Busters
•  Secondary Trauma and its impact on the team
•  Incentives and Sanctions
•  Impacts of Substance Use on the Brain and Behavior
•  Risk Need, and Responsivity for Substance Use Disorder Clients

The program also featured essential instruction on self-care for staff, and an informative presentation on Native Hawaiian Cultural Practices/Alternatives for Clients with Opioid Addiction by Niki Wright and Makani Tabura of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (Ho’okuola Hale Program).

Group photo of the Second Circuit Drug Court Team at the Statewide Adult Drug Court Conference, Ala Moana Hotel corridor, September 1.

Front left: Maui/Molokai Drug Court Probation Officer Sena Yamauchi, Maui/Molokai Drug Court Probation Officer Armon Tavares, Maui/Molokai Drug Court Branch Administrator Dean Ishihara, Adult Client Services Branch Administrator Craig Hirayasu, Maui/Molokai Drug Court Probation Officer Izeah Fernandez Ruiz, Second Circuit Adult Drug Court and Veterans Court Judge Kelsey T. Kawano. Top: Aloha House Drug Court Services Program Director Geoff Kirkland, Maui/Molokai Drug Court Probation Officer Cameron Dexter, Second Circuit Special Services Branch Program Specialist Kawika Ortiz, Maui County Deputy Public Defender Brad Sova, Maui/Molokai Drug Court Clinical Supervisor Les Maeda, Maui/Molokai Drug Court Drug Substance Abuse Counselor George Aiwohi.

Group photo of the Third Circuit Drug Court Team at the Statewide Adult Drug Court Conference, Ala Moana Hotel corridor, September 1.

From left: Veterans Administration Mentor Coordinator Taryn Dean, Drug Court Probation Officer Dustin Cueva, Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist Rosalind Bowler, Drug Court Probation Officer Keri Kimura, Third Circuit (Hilo) Drug Court and Veterans Court Judge Peter Kubota, Deputy Public Defender Sheri Tavares, Deputy Public Defender Rachel Thompson, Veterans Treatment Court Probation Officer Kay DeMello, Drug Court Probation Officer Rodney Branco, Drug Court Supervisor Pagan Devela, Drug Court Probation Officer Emily Ovian-Kwiat, Third Circuit (Kona) Drug Court and Veterans Court Judge Wendy DeWeese, Drug Court Probation Officer Anthony Actouka, Third Circuit Drug Court Coordinator Grayson Hashida. (Not pictured: Hawaii County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Annaliese Wolf.)

Group photo of the Fifth Circuit Drug Court Team at the Statewide Adult Drug Court Conference, Ala Moana Hotel corridor, September 1.

From left: Kauai Veterans Court Mentor Evan Price, Kauai Drug Court and Veterans Court Judge Michael K. Soong, Kauai Drug Court and Kauai Veterans Court Certified Substance Abuse Counselor Maile Murray, Kauai Drug Court and Veterans Court Administrator Ro Kaing, President of the Friends of the Kauai Drug Court and Veterans Court Mentor Mel Rapozo, Kauai County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Arakawa, Fifth Circuit Special Services Division Supervisor Calah Rodero.