Drug Courts
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Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy
A drug court is a specialized or problem-solving court-based program that targets criminal offenders and parents with pending child welfare cases who have alcohol and other drug addiction and dependency problems.
As of December 2008, about 1,950 drug courts were operating in the United States: 1,215 adult courts, 475 juvenile courts [1], 235 family courts, and 25 combination adult/juvenile/family drug courts. Of these, 80 were drug courts within Indian country, called Tribal Healing to Wellness courts.
Learn more about tribal courts from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute's Web page on Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts Exit Notice.
Learn more about drug courts , including information about state and county drug courts, from the Drug Court Clearinghouse Exit Notice [2]
The Drug Court Model
Although adult drug courts vary in target population, program model and service resources, they are generally based on a comprehensive model involving:
- Offender assessment.
- Judicial interaction.
- Monitoring (e.g., drug testing) and supervision.
- Graduated sanctions and rewards.
- Treatment services.
Drug court programs are usually managed by a nonadversarial and multidisciplinary team. Recent research has shown that the stability of a drug court program and its judge play a key role in successful case management and reducing offender recidivism.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance sponsors the Drug Court Planning Initiative , which provides resources, training, and technical assistance. Visit the DCPI Web site.
Notes
[1] Juvenile drug courts try to address the unique circumstances surrounding adolescent delinquency coupled with substance abuse; see the Bureau of Justice Assistance report Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice. Also see "Drug Court Intervention for Juveniles," in Drug Courts: The Second Decade: 21-25.
[2]Statistics are from the Drug Court Clearinghouse, which is sponsored by a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to American University. See Drug Court Clearinghouse's Drug Court Activity Update— January 1, 2007 (pdf, 2 pages) Exit Notice, Factsheet.