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Drug Treatment Court Programs
>>See the 2008 List of Michigan Drug Courts in Excel To download Excel file, right click on link and select "save target as..." Defining Drug Treatment CourtsDrug treatment courts are defined in the Michigan statute, MCL 600.1060(c) as ". . . a court supervised treatment program for individuals who abuse or are dependent upon any controlled substance or alcohol." These courts are specially designed to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent substance-abusing offenders and to increase the offenders' likelihood of successful habilitation through early, continuous, and intense judicially supervised treatment, mandatory period drug testing, and use of appropriate sanctions.Drug treatment courts evolved to address the revolving-door syndrome in which drug and alcohol offenders cycled in and out of the justice system. In defining drug treatment courts, it is important to make a distinction between expedited drug dockets and drug treatment courts. Expedited drug dockets focus on delay reduction strategies and do not address either the rehabilitation of drug offenders in the system or a reduction in recidivism of drug offenders. Drug treatment courts, on the other hand, treat addiction as a complex, relapsing disease and provide a comprehensive, sustained continuum of therapeutic interventions, treatment, and other services to increase a participant's periods of abstinence and reduce the rate of relapse, re-arrest, and incarceration. Michigan Drug Treatment Courts in OperationMichigan has been a pioneer in the drug treatment court movement. In June 1992, one of the first Michigan drug courts, and the first women’s drug court in the nation, was established in Kalamazoo. Since that time, the number of drug treatment programs has grown substantially, increasing by 216% in the past 6 years. There are currently 80 drug treatment courts in the state of Michigan, consisting of 29 adult drug courts, 24 DWI courts, 15 juvenile drug courts, 9 family dependency courts, and 3 tribal healing-to-wellness courts.The effectiveness of drug treatment courts in reducing recidivism and substance abuse is well documented nationwide and is associated with participants’ successful completion of drug court programs. Graduation rates among Michigan drug treatment courts vary depending on drug court type. In FY 2005, the average graduation rate for adult circuit programs was 43%, adult district courts 54%, DWI programs 65%, and juvenile programs 43%. Overall, the graduation rates among Michigan drug treatment courts were consistent with the national completion rates, which range between 27% and 66%. Drug treatment courts also save taxpayer dollars. In September 2006, Northwest Professional Consortium, Inc. (NPC) conducted drug court outcome and cost evaluations in Barry and Kalamazoo Counties. The studies showed a combined savings of almost 1 million dollars in 24 months.
Emerging Drug CourtsFamily dependency drug courts are an emerging issue within the drug court field. The mission of a family dependency drug court is to establish an integrated, court-based collaboration that protects children from abuse and neglect precipitated by parental substance abuse through timely decision making, coordinated services, treatment, and safe and permanent placements.The goals of family drug courts are to:
FundingAlthough the operational costs of drug courts are primarily the responsibility of local courts and their funding units, additional funding assistance is available from these sources:Department of Community Health/Office of Drug Control Policy FundingBeginning in January 2002, the Department of Community Health/Office of Drug Control Policy began providing funding assistance for drug court programs with Byrne JAG Grant Funds. FY 2008 Byrne JAG grant opportunities offered by the Office of Drug Control Policy can be found at: www.michigan.gov/odcplawenforcement.Michigan Drug Court Grant ProgramThe State Court Administrative Office provides funding assistance for drug courts through its Michigan Drug Court Grant Program. Funding must be re-appropriated annually by the Legislature.The Michigan Drug Court Grant Program is modeled after the federal Drug Court Grant Program and requires compliance with the 10 Key Components of Drug Courts as outlined in the federal guidelines. Adult, juvenile, family dependency, and DWI (focused on drunken driving cases) programs are eligible to receive funding from the Michigan Drug Court Grant Program. Information on the availability of grant funding and the grant deadlines are announced in the spring of each year. Previous funding from the Federal Drug Court Program is not required for this grant program. Preference for funding will be given to jurisdictions that are currently applying for or have participated in the Federal Drug Court Planning Initiative. Applicants applying for funding from this program will not be precluded from subsequently making application for funding from the Federal Drug Court Grant Program. For further information contact Carol Knudsen, Administrative Assistant-Specialty Courts, at 517-373-7351 or knudsenc@courts.mi.gov. EvaluationsOther ResourcesAdditional information on drug courts and other problem-solving courts is available at the following websites:
Huddleston, C. West, Freeman-Wilson, Karen, Boone, Donna L. "Painting the Current Picture: A National Report Card on Drug Courts and Other Problem Solving Court Programs in the United States". I:1. May 2004. |
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