Justice & Recovery: Exploring Texas Specialty Court Programs

This is the official podcast presented by the Texas Association of Specialty Courts where we talk all things related to Texas specialty court programs. This show was previously titled The PodTASC but was rebranded to Justice & Recovery in November 2024. Episodes feature guest speakers with various specialty court experiences. We go deep on backgrounds and many characteristics on what it takes to operate a successful specialty court in Texas. The Texas Association of Specialty Court Courts (TASC) builds and strengthens Texas specialty courts through collaboration, advocacy and education. TASC was founded to: (1) Increase local and statewide political, media and community awareness of the existence and success of drug courts; (2) Support legislation authorizing funding for the operation of drug courts; and (3) Provide support for jurisdictions wanting to establish drug courts. Justice & Recovery is currently hosted by Liz Wiggins, the Communications Director on the TASC Board.
Episodes
Episodes



Monday Jan 13, 2025
10. Designed to Break: Remembering We are Human, Not Superman
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Welcome back for our next episode on Season 2. As a reminder, The PodTASC has been rebranded to Justice & Recovery. Same show, different name, as we continue to explore Texas Specialty Court programs. Liz brings another wonderful guest speaker to the show - Stephen Ellison, a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor of Midland County. Stephen shares his journey from a career in the food industry to his current role as the Intensive Outpatient Program Counselor for several specialty court programs.
Links/information discussed during the show can be found below:
Contact the show with comments or questions by emailing JusticeRecoveryPodcacst@gmail.com.
TASC is hosting its annual training conference on March 24-26, 2025, in Corpus Christi. Registration is now open! Learn more: http://tasctx.org/conference.html
Texas Association of Specialty Courts (TASC): http://www.tasctx.org/
TASC Award Nominations: http://www.tasctx.org/awards.html
Midland Probation Department programs: https://midlandcountymi.gov/probation
Midland County DWI Court: https://www.co.midland.tx.us/778/DWI-Court
Family Promise: https://www.familypromiseofmidland.com/
Fair Havens: https://mfh.org/
Oxford House: https://www.oxfordhousetx.org/
Salvation Army: https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/texas-midland
Springboard Center: https://springboardcenter.org/
Thriving United: https://thrivingunited.org/
Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing – Book by Jay Stringer: https://a.co/d/eDRkm64
Maxie’s of Las Vegas: https://maxieslv.com/
Brene Brown: https://brenebrown.com/
Adam Grant: https://adamgrant.net/



Sunday Dec 08, 2024
9. Exploring Texas Specialty Courts
Sunday Dec 08, 2024
Sunday Dec 08, 2024
We are back with another season of the show! We've renamed the show from The PodTASC to Justice & Recovery. In season 1, we had over 1,000 downloads! We are starting this 2nd season off with an overview about Texas specialty court programs. Welcome Hilary Wright to the show. She is a prosecutor in Tarrant County and joined the TASC Board this past year. She is the Vice President and Education & Committee Chair. She prepared this presentation and you can find the video on our YouTube channel. This podcast episode is the audio only version.
As a reminder, this presentation gives a general overview of all specialty court types in Texas, each program may differ slightly from the overview provided and the audience should refer to the each program handbook for specific rules and guidelines about that program.
Email questions or comments to JusticeRecoveryPodcast@gmail.com.
Show links:
Specialty Courts: An Introduction (YouTube video)
Texas Association of Specialty Courts
Specialty Court Resource Center



Sunday May 12, 2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
Jennifer McMorries of Midland County joins the show to share her struggle to sobriety. Her story can give you hope after addiction and strength to break the cycle. Jennifer shares about her struggles and the kindness she received along the way. She shares about the people that inspired her and how she now uses her past experiences to help others. She is a living example of "paying it forward" and brave example of power of recovery.
Show links:
Midland County Probation Department
Midland County Drug Court
Thriving United
RISE24 (Conference)
AllRise
Texas Association of Specialty Courts



Saturday Apr 27, 2024
Saturday Apr 27, 2024
Judge Phillips of Grayson County joins Liz on The PodTASC for a discussion of his journey from his legal practice to policy work to the bench and beyond. He picked up the reigns as TASC President on March 27, 2024, and is ready to lead the statewide organization in its continued transformation from education-focus to impact-focus. From the heroes that inspired him to the best practices that he strives to always implement, Judge Phillips shares how Texas courts can lead the charge in recovery.
Show links:
Grayson County Website, 59th District Court
Texas Counseling Association
Texas Association of Specialty Courts
Judicial Commission on Mental Health
Texoma Behavioral Health Leadership Team
AllRise (Formerly known as National Drug Court Professionals)



Saturday Mar 16, 2024
6. Things You Should Know When You Create a Texas Specialty Court
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
Saturday Mar 16, 2024
Liz is back on The PodTASC to discuss the things you should know when creating a new program in Texas. Guest speakers are Erin Morgan, the current TASC Board President, and Amber Gregory, TASC Executive Director and Program Manager for the Specialty Court Resource Center. If you've been thinking about starting a treatment program in a court near you, this is the episode to listen to. Even if you already have a program, there are tips in this episode that can help you.
As promised, find links and information below about what was discussed in the show:
Contact the show with comments or questions by emailing ThePodTASC@gmail.com.
TASC is hosting its annual training conference on March 26-28, 2024, in Fort Worth. Registration opened January 5th. Learn more: http://tasctx.org/conference.html
Learn more about the Texas Association of Specialty Courts (TASC) at http://tasctx.org/index.html.
Learn more about the Specialty Court Resource Center: http://www.txspecialtycourts.org/index.html
Learn more about SAHMSA Grants: https://www.samhsa.gov/grants
Learn more about the Office of Court Administration: https://www.txcourts.gov/about-texas-courts/specialty-courts/
Learn more about Criminal Justice Division funding: https://egrants.gov.texas.gov/
Learn more about the Bureau of Justice Assistance funding: https://bja.ojp.gov/funding
Learn more about the NPC Research Best Assessment: https://allrise.org/trainings/best-assessment-tool/



Thursday Feb 29, 2024
5. It’s All About the Kids and the Data
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
The PodTASC is back with another phenomenal guest speaker, Rosie Medina, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer of El Paso County. Rosie shares about her experiences with juvenile specialty court programs and how data can be used to reevaluate your program. Juvenile specialty or treatment court programs impact children, teens, and families. These programs include juvenile drug courts and juvenile mental health courts.
As promised, find links/information below about what was discussed in the show:
Contact the show with comments or questions by emailing ThePodTASC@gmail.com.
TASC is hosting its annual training conference on March 26-28, 2024, in Fort Worth. Registration opened January 5th. Learn more: http://tasctx.org/conference.html
Learn more about the Texas Association of Specialty Courts (TASC) at http://tasctx.org/index.html.
Learn more about El Paso Juvenile Probation Department programs and about Rosie Medina here: https://juv.epcounty.com/#services
Learn more about the Annie E. Casey Foundation here: https://www.aecf.org
To learn more the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, see: https://www.ncjfcj.org



Friday Feb 16, 2024
4. Families That Recover Together, Stay Together
Friday Feb 16, 2024
Friday Feb 16, 2024
The Honorable Aurora Martinez- Jones joins the show to talk about her Family Drug Treatment Court program in Austin, Texas. She shares about the best practices that guide her team and how the program impacts families. This program serves a variety of participants, including single mothers, single fathers, pregnant or expecting mothers, and more.
As promised, find links/information below about what was discussed in the show:
Contact the show with comments or questions by emailing ThePodTASC@gmail.com.
TASC is hosting its annual training conference on March 26-28, 2024, in Fort Worth. Registration opened January 5th. Learn more: http://tasctx.org/conference.html
Learn more about the Texas Association of Specialty Courts (TASC) at http://tasctx.org/index.html.
Learn more about All Rise here: https://allrise.org/ and about their annual conference being held on May 22-25, 2024 in California, here: https://allrise.org/trainings/rise/
To contact Judge Aurora Martinez-Jones, see the Travis County County directory page: https://www.traviscountytx.gov/courts/civil/district/126
Learn more about the Travis County Family Drug Treatment Court (Parenting in Recovery): https://www.parentinginrecovery.com/
The National Council for Juvenile and Children Court Judges: https://www.ncjfcj.org/
The Texas Children's Commission: https://www.texaschildrenscommission.gov/



Thursday Feb 01, 2024
3. Including the Right Nonprofit on the Team
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Liz is back with an inspirational guest speaker, Devon Anderson, the CEO/President of Justice Forward. Devon shares how Justice Forward supports 23 specialty courts in Harris, Galveston and Fort Bend Counties. With creative inspirational incentives and ideas on how to focus on housing opportunities for participants, this episode has tips for everyone.
As promised, find links/information below about what was discussed in the show:
Contact the show with comments or questions by emailing ThePodTASC@gmail.com
TASC is hosting its annual training conference on March 26-28, 2024, in Fort Worth. Registration opened January 5th. Learn more: http://tasctx.org/conference.html
Learn more about the Texas Association of Specialty Courts (TASC) at http://tasctx.org/index.html.
Learn more about Justice Forward here: https://www.justiceforwardtx.org/about-us and learn about their upcoming events at https://www.justiceforwardtx.org/events
Learn about party sober and their events here: https://www.partysober.org
To learn more about free nonprofit management classes, see: https://www.nonprofitready.org
