1st North Dakota tribal youth services pact deemed 'sustainable' Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Bismarck Tribune
Early results show promise for the first agreement providing state court services to tribal youth in North Dakota.
The 2019 Legislature passed a law allowing for tribal juvenile services cooperative agreements to provide services for youth adjudicated in tribal courts. The law ends after July 2021.
In late 2019, the Spirit Lake Tribe signed the first memorandum of understanding with state officials for a pilot project. The agreement is for five years.
Since Spirit Lake Tribal Court began sharing juvenile case data with a team of state agencies in February, six youth have been involved and received services such as risk and needs assessments to aid tribal probation case planning, and access to treatment.