This document seeks to provide guidance on the role of judges as leaders in Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts and encourages judicial leaders to discover their own leadership skills in their traditional stories, and is organized into 10 key component sections, plus a chapter on leading with gratitude.
This paper addresses the challenges of learning and practicing leadership skills in the context of Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts (THWCs), emphasizing the importance of leadership and the judge’s role in leading a THWC team, which includes overseeing the coordinated communication, cooperation, and decision-making among the court, treatment, child welfare services (social services), probation, and other agencies. The 10 key components of THWCs, and their leadership, include: individual and community healing focus; referral points and legal process; screening and eligibility; treatment and rehabilitation; intensive supervision; incentives and sanctions; judicial interaction; monitoring and evaluation; continuing interdisciplinary and community education; and team and community interaction. This document expands on the leadership skills required, why judicial leadership is important, and how to lead with gratitude. Each section includes several related, traditional stories.