Fostering Sustainability
Discussions of potential follow-up activities can be a way to foster sustainability of your court’s efforts and foster ongoing community engagement in the future.
At the conclusion of their engagements, the Puerto Rico team facilitated discussions about follow-up activities that adult community leaders and youth groups could work on with the Judicial Branch’s Office of Education and Community Relations.
To foster discussion among the youth, the Puerto Rico team provided youth participants with copies of one of the graphic novels from the Justice Case Files collection – graphic novels about the judicial system developed by the National Center for State Courts. The youth discussed whether creating a graphic novel or other type of media might help inform their peers about topics such as avoiding bad decisions, school conflict, and family communication. This discussion helped the youth participants generate creative ideas for a follow-up project.
Strategies for Choosing Follow-up Activities
Different approaches can be used with different groups to foster discussion of follow-up activities:
- In the youth groups, cards were placed on the floor with several ideas. Students chose cards showing ideas they liked and then gathered as a group to discuss them.
- In the San Lorenzo group, a plenary session was held to discuss ideas. Ideas were written out on a board placed in front of the room. The ideas were then organized to create a survey that the community participants completed to select their follow-up activity.
- In the Alianza group, options for follow-up activities were written down on poster boards. Community participants “voted” for their top options using stickers labeled with numbers 1-3, to indicate their first, second, and third choices. Votes were tallied to decide which options to prioritize.
Example Follow-up Activities
- The Boys and Girls Club chapter of Carolina decided to develop a script that could be used for a short about bullying and conflict in school settings. Court personnel engaged with the students by discussing their script with them.
- Students from the Crearte school chose to develop posters to display in a gallery at the courthouse. The intention of the posters would be to illustrate their lives and experiences, thereby fostering dialogue between the youth and court personnel.
- For adult community leaders from the San Lorenzo engagement session, the Puerto Rico team has developed working groups with community representatives, judges, and lawyers. These groups are working on educational materials about judicial services available to help community members address and resolve conflicts.