Douglas County District Court has received a grant from the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) Eviction Diversion Initiative to strengthen eviction diversion efforts and improve housing stability across Douglas County. It is one of 10 state and local courts selected through a competitive application process and review by an advisory council composed of state court chief justices and court administrators. 

Each court will use the grant funding to hire dedicated staff to implement holistic, sustainable, and community-driven strategies that can be offered to both landlords and tenants as alternatives to the traditional eviction track. The court will still hear and decide eviction disputes when the parties are unable to reach some other resolution, but the goal is to help the parties avoid the time and expense of traditional litigation simply because they didn’t realize what other options exist.

Successful eviction diversion programs provide landlords and tenants with the time, information, and resources necessary to resolve their housing problems in the least harmful way. 

Courts will benefit from ongoing peer learning opportunities, a national evaluation led by Stout Risius Ross LLC, and intensive technical assistance provided by NCSC as they implement eviction diversion and court reform strategies that leverage community resources including legal aid and mediation services, housing and financial counseling, and rental assistance programs.

Other selected sites include:

• Colorado: 4th Judicial District Court, Colorado Springs
• Kentucky: Jefferson County District Court, Louisville
• Ohio: Akron Municipal Court
• Oklahoma: Tulsa County District Court
• Oregon: Clatsop County Circuit Court, Astoria
• Tennessee: Shelby County General Sessions Court, Memphis
• Texas: Harris County Precinct 1 & 2, Houston
• Utah: Third District Court, Salt Lake City
• Washington: Clark County Superior Court, Vancouver

For more information, visit: ncsc.org/eviction