Judiciary awarded $850K in grants to address critical security needs

The CNMI Judiciary was awarded $850,000 in Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants funding to address its critical security needs, according to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) over the weekend.

Sablan also disclosed in his e-kilili newsletter that more families in the CNMI will have the continued opportunity to request home visits from health providers after the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. was awarded this week $1,458,860 in Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program funding.

The Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants funding awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, is from an earmark that Sablan had included in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science bill for fiscal year 2024.

The delegate said these funds will address the CNMI Judiciary’s security needs by reenforcing, hardening, and enhancing security measures at the Judiciary’s courthouse facilities on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

He said this includes securing access points with door hardening and upgraded door lock keycard systems; installing advanced security cameras; installing perimeter fencing around the courthouses; and improving the holding cell elevator at the Guma’ Hustisia building in Susupe for the secured transport of detainees into the courtrooms.

According to the CNMI Judiciary, its current security system and infrastructure are outdated, and with increasing caseloads and growing services, it is essential to enhance the courts’ surveillance systems and access control mechanisms.

Expected outcomes include the overall security enhancement at the Judiciary’s courthouses in the CNMI; reinforcing the initiative of safeguarding both court personnel and patrons; and continuing the Judiciary’s efforts to meet national standards by enabling the Judiciary to implement the recommendations provided by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Regarding the health home visits, Sablan said the five-year funding is particularly directed at pregnancy care, but also extends to infant and early childhood well-being.

He said the home-visiting program has been shown to improve maternal health and also prevent child injuries, abuse, and neglect, and prepare children to succeed in school.

Sablan said originally created as part of the Obamacare legislation in 2010, President Joseph Biden was able to extend this effective system to provide care for mothers and families with enactment of Public Law 117-328 in 2022.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, 216 Democrats voted to approve the legislation, 200 Republicans voted against.

Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan