History And Impact Of Drug Treatment Courts

The next article that was reviewed was focused on a service that is provided for parents struggling with substance abuse. The service is called Family Drug Court and is also referred to as FDC. The FDC is a child welfare court that specifically deals with parental substance abuse cases. This court system helps the parents quickly receive drug treatment that is needed, offers a more structured system for the parents and child, and also holds the parents to higher accountability for recovery. According to Margaret Lloyd, "Testa and Smith (2009) rigorously reviewed the literature and found that substance abuse is reported in 11-14% of investigated child welfare cases and in 50-79% of cases where the child is removed and placed in out-of-home care." The goal of the FDC is to

I can’t speak for the entire State of Texas but Travis County drug court is making a positive impact on offenders’ lives. Two judges who manage Travis County’s drug court are directing addicts into a court supervised treatment program instead of incarceration. Drug courts like the one in Travis County have successfully handled nonaggressive defendants with drug and alcohol addictions. People who complete drug court programs rarely fall back into substance abuse. Per four drug-court judges surveyed, about 10 percent of program graduates commit new crimes. That’s a recidivism rate of one-fifth that of traditional probation programs. Which shows drug courts can ease the strain on congested penitentiaries and save taxpayer money. A study done by

Many different states have begun sending nonviolent drug offenders to various kinds of drug treatment program the state offers. By doing this, it has significantly reduced the problems with overcrowding. If an individual is arrested and charged with simple possession of a drug and no other crime is being commented, then this person is doing no harm to anyone else. They should be given the opportunity to try and make a change in their life and beat the addiction. Instead, if this person is thrown into jail, they are still going to be an addict with a criminal record now and will not be able to be a contributing member of society. (Everett 1 ).

Not only do the eligibility requirements of drug courts vary across the board, but the way the programs operate and their outcomes vary considerably, especially when it comes down to how they choose to operationalize the ten key components (Carey & Waller, 2011; Mackin et. al, 2009). In 1997, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals published these key components. The first key component is that drug courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing (NADCP, 1997). Being that the mission of drug courts is to combat the abuse of drugs and alcohol it is imperative for them to promote recovery through coordinated responses. The second key component states that drug courts should use a

Drug Courts came about as a result of a backlogged court system and a steady, rapidly increasing prison population. Drug courts are a form of diversion that helps the offender through rehabilitation and the community through an increased sense of protection, which serves the best interest of everyone. Drug Courts are community based intermediate sanctions that incorporate treatment principles into the Criminal Justice System and divert drug offenders from traditional punishments of probation and prison. The objective of drug courts programs is to treat the underlying problems of addiction among drug offenders and eliminate participants’ future drug use and crime.

The War on Drugs is one cause for the mass incarceration that has become apparent within the United States. This refers to a drastic amount of people being imprisoned for mainly non-violent crime (“Mass Incarceration” 2016). In addition to people who are not an immediate threat to society being locked up for a substantial duration of time, the economic consequences are costing states and taxpayers millions of dollars. Specifically, every one in five people incarcerated is in prison due to some

Drug court is also known to reduce recidivism rates. This was done through participation of the defendants and justice professionals who are involved in the program. The issues defendants have been face with are address when they are sent to drug court. Most defendants that come into the criminal justice system are faced with depression, homelessness, lack of education, lack of employment, medical and mental health issues, poor motivation, lack of family support and community support.

Tougher sentencing is not likely to reduce illegal drug use or serious crime associated with drugs (Alexander, 2010; Mauer, 2009; Whitford & Yates, 2009). Despite that, politicians and law enforcement personnel continue to advocate for stronger sentences for those who take or sell drugs of any kind. The jails and prisons across the United States are filling up with drug offenders, and some believe that there are better uses for those jail cells and that there are many crimes that are more severe and significant. These are the crimes that should be provided with tougher sentencing guidelines, but yet illegal drug use is still a serious crime and should not go unpunished. What should be done, and how should changes be made? Those are tough questions that have to be explored and that do not have any easy answers for those who make the laws and those who enforce them. Drug incarceration has been on the rise, with mixed results. According to King (2008), "overall, between 1980 and 2003, the number of drug offenders in prison or jail increased by 1100% from 41,100 in 1980 to 493,800 in 2003, with a remarkable rise in arrests concentrated in African American communities."

This study on drug courts intends to systematically review quasi-experimental and experimental evaluations of the effectiveness of drug courts. With an emphasis on committing future crimes and continuous drug use. This report focused on the programs associated with the standard in the criminal justice system case processing. This review expresses the effects of recidivism in the long and short-term soundness with the current evidence along with the relationship reduction and effectiveness. Eligibility for drug court applies to a non violent offender, with proof of substance dependency. Drug courts stand on the concept that combines drug treatment with legal and moral authority in the attempts to break the cycle of addiction and the committing

Florida started the national drug court movement in 1989 by creating the first drug court in the United States in Miami-Dade County. In the years since Florida pioneered the drug court concept, numerous studies have confirmed that drug courts significantly reduce crime, provide better treatment outcomes, and produce better cost benefits than other criminal justice strategies. Drug Court offers individuals facing criminal charges for drug use and possession an opportunity to enter a substance abuse recovery program in lieu of straight jail time. The requirements of Drug Court are strict because the road to recovery is not easy. A candidate is tested frequently, must attend substance abuse recovery meetings and make regular court appearances in order to abide by the requirements of Drug

The National Institute of Justice funds a unique Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation (Rossman et al., 2011). This evaluation occurs over a five-year period and analyzes the process, impact, and cost evaluation of drug courts from 29 various jurisdictions throughout the United States. Twenty-three drug courts in eight states, Georgia, Florida, and Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, and Washington, are examined throughout the process. This evaluation only chooses certain drug courts, therefore how resources are being implemented, cost savings, and outcomes are only being examined at those drug courts, but what about the other drug court

Drug addiction has increased drastically across America in the last fifty years. Non-violent drug offenders fill our jails and prisons. Taxpayer dollars are put into a prison system that is proving to be counter-productive. Recidivism rates are high. Drug Court is an alternative to incarceration that offers rehabilitation to criminal offenders. In drug court, the traditional functions of the U.S. justice system are profoundly altered. The judge is the leader of a treatment team. The judge makes all final decisions and holds a range of discretion unprecedented in the courtroom, including the type of treatment mandated and how to address

In 1994, Los Angeles County established its first Drug Court Program; within a few months, a second court was implemented. These two programs were the beginning of the Los Angeles County Drug Court system and represented a growing “movement to significantly alter the criminal justice system’s response to drug addiction and crime” (Fielding et al., 2002, p. 218). As of 2015, there are 12 adult drug courts in Los Angeles County that specialize in drug treatment services for drug involved and dependent offenders. According to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (1997) the mission of “drug courts is to stop the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and related criminal activity” (p. 7). Drug courts utilize a team approach to promote

Currently, drug courts have been proven to be successful at reducing recidivism of offenders. In the United States there are about 120,000 people receiving help in order to rehabilitate them and to try to reduce the chances of recidivism (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2011). These programs require individuals to participate in the programs for a minimum of one year. During this year the individuals are required to appear in court and be drug tested at

I attended Drug Court held at the Dunklin County Justice Center in Kennett, Missouri. Court was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on June 14, 2017. I contacted Julie Spielman who serves as the Drug Court Administrator ahead of time to inform her of the assignment and to find out when the next meeting was. She was very helpful in providing me with various options of dates and times of available court hearings. She gave me directions to follow once I arrived at the Justice Center. Julie made me feel comfortable in attending. Observing Drug Court was very interesting and an eye-opening experience. This was my first time attending so I did not know what to expect. I expected to be in a court room with a judge and have various members of the community there to report on their progress. Phillip Britt, serves as the Drug Court Commissioner and he was leading court. He called each member up to the stand to report on their progress in treatment and to sign off that they were in attendance. I feel that Drug Court is very effective for those in treatment to attend. Along with their caseworker and the judge, members are held accountable to attend treatment, various meetings such as AA or NA, and encouraged to make positive choices to ensure sobriety. I observed that the court system works very well with the person in treatment. They work as a team to get the person sober and help them through treatment. The court system has strict guidelines set that each person must follow to graduate the