6th District Court welcomes new Treatment Court Manager
BANNOCK COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) - There’s a new face at the Bannock County Courthouse.
Aimee Austin was recently hired as the new 6th District Treatment Court Manager.
“The 6th Judicial District is excited to welcome Aimee to the team," Trial Court Administrator Kerry Hong said. "We are fortunate to have someone of Aimee’s caliber and experience working for our Treatment Courts.”
As the Treatment Court Manager, Austin will be providing leadership to the 11 treatment courts in the 6th District, and will assist in coordinating the Mental Health Court in Bannock County and Power County’s Drug Court.
The goals of Treatment Courts are to treat behavioral health concerns, decrease recidivism, and hold participants accountable while also lessening overcrowding in jails and prisons. These courts provide an alternative to incarceration by providing a judicially supervised treatment and supervision plan, which can help break the cycle of criminal behavior and addiction.
“It can be a supervision tool, but our hope is that it’s a life-changing tool in that (participants) can be free from substance abuse and get to being productive members of the community,” Austin said.
Austin is replacing Joanne Martinez, who worked as the Treatment Court Manager for about nine years.
Before joining the 6th District Court, Austin worked in the Bonneville County Courthouse as a Drug Court Coordinator for the 7th District Court. She spent eight and a half years there, working closely with family treatment court, young adult court, and felony drug court.
Austin is excited to join the team in Bannock County and get started helping connect people to resources to help them succeed, especially in the District’s rural communities.
“I’m a supporter of recovery,” Austin said. “I feel like any option we can give that can help someone recover rather than go to jail is the best option.”
Austin graduated from Idaho State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work before she went on to get her master’s in organizational development and leadership from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
