Courtney TindaLL McCLain Receives The State Bar of California’s 2015 Court Staff Award

Raymond Goldstein

On September 9th, I had the privilege of presenting our Court Staff Award to Courtney Tindall McClain. Ms. McClain was hired by the Solano County Dependency Drug Court in 2006 as its first internal case manager, and, since then, she has quite simply shown a full-out, no-holds barred commitment to the court, program participants, and everyone involved. In her almost ten years, Courtney has case-managed more than 500 parents, dealing with issues large and small, and for dozens and dozens of them, she has literally been "the one" to assist with housing, counseling, employment, sobriety—and a drug free family unit.

Often, our court staff awards are presented in a courthouse so that colleagues and staff may share in the recognition and award presentation. On this day, it was not so much the venue that was unique, but, rather, those who were present to share in the celebration. Yes, there were colleagues, including FLEXCOM’s secretary, Paul Bonnar, and former chair, Sherry Peterson. Also present were court personnel like Judges Ellis and Ichikawa, as well as court staff; but mostly, there were families, young and old alike. I don’t think any were related to Courtney by blood, but I bet each would do most anything for her. September 9th, besides being my wife’s birthday, was also Solano County’s 9th Annual Celebration Reunion of Dependency Drug Court participants. It was moving, it was tearful, and it was musical. And, I would add that it was the perfect place to honor Courtney—not just for Courtney’s sake, nor even for those who came and were able to celebrate with Courtney. But I think it can serve as a great reminder to us of the varied and vast impact that our family law section has on communities and those, like Courtney McClain, who directly serve them.

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