By Gary W. Dodge, 44th District Court, President of Michigan Court
Administration Association
The Michigan Court Administration Association (MCAA) has
arranged to bring a National Center for State Courts (NCSC) accreditation
program to court professionals in Michigan.
MCAA, in coordination with the Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI), is
partnering with the NCSC’s Institute for Court Management (ICM) to conduct the
Certified Court Manager Program (CCM) at the Hall of Justice in Lansing.
Since 1971, ICM has been the leader in education for the
court community. The CCM program is a
nationally recognized credential that provides comprehensive instruction on all
key competencies for court managers. It
is also the base for court professionals who want to attain the Certified Court
Executive and ICM Fellows certifications.
The CCM program consists of six courses: Accountability and Court Performance; Budget
and Fiscal Management; Caseflow and Workflow Management; Project Management;
Purposes and Responsibilities of Courts; and Workforce Management. The CCM program is open to all Michigan court
administrators and members of their staff who show a strong desire to pursue court
administration as a career. The program
is also open to SCAO staff. Each course
is two and a half days in length. Two
courses will be offered this year and each of the next two years.
MCAA is able to bring the CCM program to Michigan through a grant
funded by the State Justice Institute.
By having grant funding to bring ICM faculty to Michigan, participants
will be able to obtain the CCM certification for less than 20 percent of the
cost of traveling to Williamsburg, Virginia, six times. Participants will be responsible for a $50
registration fee and paying their travel and lodging costs.
MCAA hopes to accomplish two goals, in addition to bringing
the CCM program to Michigan:
1)
To offer program participants the opportunity to
receive additional training on the first day of each course so they can become
certified as faculty in that topic; and,
2)
To leverage these certified faculty within the
Michigan judicial structure to open opportunities for presenting classes in the
future without reliance on grant support.
The first group for training will consist of 40 people who
have stated their commitment to completing the CCM program as a group. By committing as a group, MCAA believes it
will foster networking, bonding, and collaboration that will extend beyond the
training and ultimately bring court administrators throughout the state closer
together.
“It is very exciting to see the level of interest in ICM
certification programs! I appreciate MCAA and MJI working together with
ICM to bring this professional development opportunity to Michigan.,” said
Margaret R. Allen, Director of National Programs, NCSC Institute for Court
Mangement. “MCAA President Gary Dodge and the Board have been tireless
advocates as our partnership developed. Through these first courses, the
groundwork is being laid for Michigan to offer ICM courses in-state using
Michigan faculty for a long time to come, making them more accessible to many
others. I look forward to seeing many Michigan Certified Court Managers
put what they’ve learned into practice and continue to serve the profession in
Michigan and nationally.”
Applications for the first group training were accepted until
June 1. Eighty-six people applied and more
continue to express interest. A panel
met at the Hall on Justice on June 4 to select the first 40 participants and six
alternates. Because of the level of
interest, MCAA will be exploring alternatives to provide the CCM program as
quickly as possible for the people who did not get into this first group. To learn more about the program,view a webinar
that was hosted by ICM; click here to
file an application. Contact me at dodgeg@romi.gov or 248-246-3641 if you
have questions.
