PACS AmeriCorps Training Manual

PACS AmeriCorps is a partnership program between AmeriCorps and the Maricopa County Superior Court. The program provides grant funding to staff the Court's Law Library Resource Centers with AmeriCorps members. These members provide self-represented litigants with assistance in a variety of areas, including with court forms, protective orders, and general court information and navigation. Their work is critical in providing access to justice for some of Maricopa County's most vulnerable residents who are navigating both a complex judicial system and, often, a difficult and emotional time in their personal lives. Now in its third grant year, the program has grown significantly in size and scope, and this growth underscored the need for a physical training and reference manual for the incoming class of members. The main undertaking of this project was to create such a manual. For this project, members of the 2016-2017 PACS AmeriCorps program were surveyed about their experiences with both their training and learning on the job. Members identified the strengths and weaknesses of past training sessions and provided ideas for future ones. The results of this survey were then incorporated into the development of a comprehensive training and reference manual that was utilized during training sessions for the 2017-2018 class of members on September 25th and 26th, 2017. After several weeks, a post-survey similar to the pre-survey was administered to the new class of members, and their answers were analyzed and compared to the feedback from 2016-2017. The results of the survey showed an increase in on-the-job confidence and overall satisfaction with training after the addition of the training manual, although some members noted aspects in need of development. Based on the results of the survey, ideas for further improvement in subsequent years were identified.