Liz tries out her newly acquired podcasting skills in the PodTASC's first episode with guest speaker, the Honorable Laura Barker, of County Court at Law #2 in Williamson County, TX. Judge Barker shares how she uses best practices with her Veteran's Treatment Court and DWI/Drug Court programs, and how she strives to ensure her programs meet the ever-changing needs of the community. These programs consider the role mental health plays in challenges for participants and the need for individualized treatment.

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 opens 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/.
• Information about the Texas Center for the Judiciary's annual DWI court team training can be found https://www.yourhonor.com/Online/Online/Events/2024-Conferences/2024-DWI-Conferences/Home.aspx?EventKey=24DWICT.
• To contact Judge Barker, see the Williamson County directory page: https://www.wilcotx.gov/426/Court-at-Law-Two