Advanced Resources, Budget and Finance

Description

This workshop was designed to strengthen the skills of judges and managers who have responsibility for a court's budget, or for the budget of a branch court, or for a court program. Participants are expected to already have a basic understanding of public sector finance and budgeting and to have been involved in the preparation and defense of a court's budget for at least one budget cycle and one full fiscal year. The curriculum is designed to explore in greater depth a few selected topics from the following set of topics for which materials have been assembled:

• Revenue Sources and Revenue Sensitivity to Economic Conditions
• Strategies for Responding to Budget Reductions
• Strategic Planning in the Budget Process
• Use of Performance and Outcome Measures in Budgeting
• Impacts of Shifts to Greater State Funding
• Better Budget Advocacy

At the conclusion of the sessions participants will have a more in-depth understanding of several key issues they face regarding acquiring and using court resources. This will make them more effective in planning and managing their court's budget.

JMI's Experience with this Curriculum

The curriculum was developed as part of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) Core Competency Curriculum Guidelines project. Two programs at the one and one-half hour length have been presented at the NACM Annual Conference.

Adapting the Curriculum for Your Jurisdiction

The core curriculum consists of a set of topics, which, although inter-related, need not all be presented at the same time. The curriculum materials already prepared are generic in nature, focusing nationally. Those planning a workshop must select which topics are of greatest interest and relevance to potential participants. This could be done by either polling the potential workshop participants or by an education or conference planning committee. Once topics are selected the curriculum materials can be edited to your jurisdiction. JMI faculty are available to present the curriculum or JMI can work with faculty from your jurisdiction.

Presentation Options

The curriculum was developed in one and one half hour and two and one half day formats. However, the nature of the curriculum allows for programs of varying lengths to accommodate the needs of the audience.

Contact

Elaine Nugent-Borakove at enugent (at) jmijustice.org