By Rebecca A. Clay
In many courtrooms, judges see the same defendants so
often they're practically on a first-name basis. Whether
the charges are breaking and entering, driving under
the influence, neglecting a child, or some other offense,
the underlying cause is often the same: alcohol or drug
abuse.
SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
is helping to stop these revolving doors. Since the late
1990s, CSAT has provided funding to support treatment
drug courts—often referred to simply as drug courts—that
offer offenders access to alcohol or substance abuse
treatment instead of incarceration. Today, CSAT's criminal
and juvenile justice portfolio funds 62 drug courts,
helping adult offenders, juvenile offenders, and parents
at risk of losing custody of their children break the
cycle of substance abuse, crime, and prison time.
"Providing alcohol and drug abuse treatment instead
of jail is one of the surest ways to put drug-dependent
adults on the path to recovery and to prevent juveniles
with drug problems from becoming adult criminals,"
said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W.
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An Effective Alternative
The first drug courts were a response to a system in
crisis, according to the National Association of Drug
Court Professionals (NADCP).
In the late 1980s, substance-abusing nonviolent offenders
were overwhelming the criminal justice system. These
offenders would receive their sentences, serve their
time, and be released—only to start this expensive,
time-consuming cycle all over again.
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Judge Joseph Reardon presides over a drug court session and talks about the value of culturally enriching activities, one of the unique elements of the Massachusetts treatment drug court program. Photo by
Pamela Ames, Director of Communications, Gosnold |
"Judges and prosecutors were fed up with seeing
the same drug- and alcohol-dependent people appear before
the court over and over and over again," explained
C. West Huddleston III, L.P.C., Director of the National
Drug Court Institute (NDCI), the association's education,
research, and scholarship arm. "They recognized
that their traditional responses, whether it was jail,
prison, or a probationary sentence, weren't solving the
underlying problem. Dependency was the driving force
behind their criminal behavior."
Drug courts break the cycle by ensuring that offenders
receive substance abuse treatment, which addresses the
root cause of their crimes. Instead of sending offenders
to jail or prison, judges send them to treatment. Close
supervision, drug testing, and the use of sanctions and
incentives help ensure that offenders stick with their
treatment plan.
That approach really works, said Mr. Huddleston, noting
that national, statewide, and local evaluations demonstrate
the efficacy of drug courts.
In a 2005 report to Congress, for example, the Government
Accountability Office reviewed the evidence about adult
drug courts and found that participants had lower rates
of re-arrest and re-conviction than comparison groups.
Mr. Huddleston also points to a 2003 study by the Center
for Court Innovation, which analyzed the re-conviction
rate of participants in New York's drug court system.
The study found that the re-conviction rate for 2,135
defendants participating in six of the state's drug courts
was 29 percent lower on average over 3 years than the
re-conviction rate for similar offenders who didn't participate
in drug courts.
That kind of evidence has spurred the growth of drug
courts. According to NADCP, there are now 1,753 drug
courts of various types in operation, with 212 in the
planning stages.
The evidence has also prompted CSAT's continuing commitment
to supporting this innovative alternative.
"SAMHSA's vision is a life in the community for
everyone," said Kenneth W. Robertson, Team Leader
for Targeted Capacity Expansion and Criminal Justice
Programs at CSAT. "That includes criminal offenders."
To fulfill that vision, CSAT funds adult treatment drug
courts, juvenile treatment drug courts, and family treatment
drug courts. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) also
funds drug courts through its Bureau of Justice Assistance
and Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
CSAT and DOJ work together to better coordinate drug
court funding and provide training. A support contract
provides training to CSAT grantees. With funding from
DOJ, NDCI helps grantees and any other drug court that
needs assistance.
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