Adult Drug Courts
One of drug courts' defining characteristics is the
effort to change the relationship between the offender
and the judicial system, said Mr. Robertson. "Drug
courts change the adversarial relationships that are
typically found in judicial settings into team partnerships
where everybody's pulling together," he explained.
That transformation is apparent in the Gosnold Barnstable
Action for New Directions (BAND) Drug Court Program in
Barnstable County, MA, which received a 3-year CSAT grant
in 2002.
When offenders enter the program, there's an entire
team working with the judge to make sure that offenders
get the treatment they need. In addition to the judge,
the team includes case managers, treatment providers,
the public defender, a police officer, and representatives
from the probation department and district attorney's
office.
Any team member—or the offender's attorney—can
refer a nonviolent offender to the program once that
person is facing incarceration. The team reviews the
person's criminal record, substance abuse problem, and
circumstances, and then refers those deemed eligible
to the district attorney, who gets the final say.
Once they're in, participants begin a yearlong, three-phase
treatment program. To move from one phase to the next,
they must meet certain criteria, such as having negative
drug tests, participating in treatment, or getting a
job. If they don't meet these criteria, they face sanctions
ranging from more frequent drug tests or more intensive
treatment to an electronic ankle "bracelet"
or weekends in jail.
In the meantime, case managers help participants tackle
other problems in their lives. Case managers enroll participants
in public insurance programs and find them primary care
physicians. They help participants enroll in educational
programs, write résumés or fill out job
applications, and sometimes drive participants to job
interviews. The team has even persuaded local health
clubs to offer memberships.
The program also has a cultural enrichment component.
"These folks are alienated from the community by
nature of their criminality," said Project Director
Raymond V. Tamasi, M.Ed., Chief Executive Officer of
Gosnold, Inc. "We're trying to reconnect—or
connect—people to the community."
Along with the judge and members of the drug court team,
participants enjoy quarterly visits to the local art
museum, the symphony, and community theater. "The
judge doesn't have his robes on and isn't sitting behind
a bench," Mr. Tamasi noted. "We're just members
of an audience watching a performance together."
So far, the team's approach seems to be working. In
one study, for example, the team examined the program's
effect on the first 50 participants. A total of 29 of
them completed treatment in what was then an 18-month
program. In the 2 years before joining the program, the
total number of arrests for these 29 participants was
76. Two years after they entered the program, the number
of arrests had dropped to 8.
There's a side benefit, too, Mr. Tamasi explained. As
participants and team members speak to civic groups and
local television program viewers, their stories of transforming
themselves from tax-users to taxpayers are chipping away
at the stigma attached to addiction. "Now we're
starting to hear people say that putting certain people
in prison just doesn't work," he said.
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Family Drug Courts
While adult and juvenile drug courts serve individuals
who have committed a wide range of crimes, family drug
courts target a more specific population—parents
whose substance abuse has put them at risk of losing
custody of their children.
Unlike adult and juvenile courts, where the focus is
on the offender, family drug courts focus on the offenders'
children.
"The objective of family drug courts is to find
solutions that are in the best interests of the child,"
explained Mr. Robertson of CSAT. "The purpose of
the courts is to find ways to alleviate the problems
that exist and make it possible for parents to bring
their children back into their homes. Our goal is to
keep those children from having to go into foster care
or into permanent custody with other families—unless
that's what's best for the child."
Family drug courts, he explained, help achieve that
goal by eliminating the parental substance abuse that
puts parents at risk of losing their children to the
state. Compliance with the drug court program can greatly
increase parents' chances of getting their children back,
Mr. Robertson said.
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At the Cape Art
Museum in Massachusetts, three drug court participants
engage in a discussion with the museum's curator,
Michael Giaquinto, about techniques used in furniture
finishing more than 100 years ago. Photo by
Pamela Ames, Director of Communications, Gosnold |
The Steuben County Family Court Treatment Enhancement
Project offers an example. The project received a 3-year
CSAT grant in 2002 and is now in a no-cost extension
period.
Located in the town of Bass in rural upstate New York,
the court serves parents—primarily mothers—who
have been charged with neglect of their children due
primarily to a substance abuse problem. "For example,
they've overdosed," explained Judge Peter C. Bradstreet,
J.D. "or they've driven in their car with their
children while intoxicated."
When a neglect petition is filed, the family drug court
coordinator screens the petition to see if substance
abuse is a factor. When it is, the person is eligible
for family drug court.
Participants undergo treatment for substance abuse and
any mental health issues, while family care workers monitor
their progress during home visits. The family drug court
program even provides transportation if needed.
In the early stages, participants come before the judge
each week. "If I'm hearing that the person doesn't
have a good attitude in treatment or won't talk in group
therapy, I'll ask them about it when they come before
me," Judge Bradstreet said.
The family drug court team meets weekly to discuss participants'
progress. Throughout, the team keeps the children's perspective
in mind. For example, if a team member suggests cutting
back visits with children as punishment for some violation,
someone might ask how the children will feel about it
and suggest alternative sanctions.
Family drug courts offer several advantages, said Project
Director Michael J. Magnani, J.D., Director of the Division
of Grants and Program Development at the New York State
Unified Court System in Manhattan. They allow much more
informed decision-making, because the drug court team
thoroughly explores what's going on with parents and
children. They allow much quicker decision-making. And
there's greater accountability.
"In a traditional court, the judge may tell the
person to get some sort of treatment, but it's up to
the parent to actually do that," said Mr. Magnani.
"By and large, these cases kick around forever."
For Judge Bradstreet, the evidence that the family drug
court model works is apparent in the faces of its graduates
and their children.
"The parents just look so much better than they
did when they first appeared in the court months earlier,"
Judge Bradstreet noted. "There's a remarkable difference.
They've got smiles, bright eyes, healthy-looking skin."
Even more gratifying are the comments from participants'
children, who are often invited to speak at the graduation
ceremonies. "They say things like, ‘Thank
you for giving me my mother back,' " said Judge
Bradstreet.
For more information about drug courts, visit the SAMHSA
Web site or visit the NADCP Web site at www.nadcp.org.
« See Part 1: Incarceration vs. Treatment: Drug Courts
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