Session 6: Complex Clinical Case Management and Advanced Ethical Decision Making in Treatment Courts
Presenter: Julie Seitz and Judge Charles Auslander
August 16, 2025 | 12:00 PM EST | 75 minutes

Session Description:
This collaborative session brings together clinical and judicial perspectives to explore the nuanced challenges of managing complex cases in treatment court settings. Designed for experienced treatment providers, the session focuses on balancing recovery-oriented care with the legal realities of court involvement. Topics include comprehensive case management, navigating crises such as resumed use or psychiatric instability, and implementing public health–informed prevention strategies. Using real-world examples, the presenters will guide participants through advanced ethical dilemmas, highlighting collaborative decision-making approaches that uphold clinical integrity and advance public safety.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Develop and apply advanced case management strategies that address the complex social, legal, and behavioral health needs of treatment court clients.

2. Implement crisis intervention and health prevention strategies in response to high-risk behaviors, such as resumed use or legal jeopardy.

3. Navigate advanced ethical challenges in treatment courts using collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches that balance clinical best practices with court requirements.

Presenter(s):

Julie Seitz, L.G.S.W., M.S.W., L.A.D.C., is a project director with Impaired Driving Solutions (IDS), a division of All Rise. She joined IDS in 2018, bringing over 20 years of experience in the clinical sector and community program development. Prior, she was the clinical director of an internationally recognized treatment center offering the continuum of clinical care, including a f irst-of-its-kind, direct-access opioid withdrawal unit. Recognizing the many pathways to recovery and the need for additional recovery services, Ms. Seitz worked with a small team to develop and launch a recovery community organization to serve rural communities in northern Minnesota. She spent 10 years as the treatment provider for Minnesota's Sixth Judicial District impaired driving and mental health treatment court programs. As a published author and clinician, she has spent the last 25 years of her career giving clients a voice. Her work with clients has focused on feedback-informed, research-based, and outcome-driven practice. As a f ierce advocate for education and growing the field, she is also an adjunct professor at the College of St. Scholastica in the Master of Social Work program and delivers training and technical assistance at the state, national, and international levels.

Hon. Charles E. Auslander III has served as a state court judge in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, since 2011. From 2002 to 2011, he served as a judge in the county magistrate court. In April 2005, he joined the Athens-Clarke County State Court DUI court team as an assistant judge. He took over management of the team in 2011. The DUI court is the only court in the nation to have been designated a national academy court by All Rise’s Impaired Driving Solutions division every year since 2008. Judge Auslander has served on the Georgia Commission on Dispute Resolution since 2006 and has been the chair of the commission since 2012. He also serves on the Funding Committee for the Council of Accountability Court Judges. He is a past member of the Next Generation Courts Commission, the executive committee for the Council of Magistrate Court Judges, and is also a past chair of the council’s legislative committee. In 2011, he was named Magistrate of the Year by the council. Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced with the law firm of McArthur and McArthur, P.A. in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in economics and from the University of Georgia School of Law.