Drug Court Program: Juvenile Drug Court

Events

Purpose:

To reduce substance abuse and recidivism among nonviolent juvenile offenders; provide constructive and intensive court supervision, extensive substance abuse treatment, educational and employment services; and maximize a juvenile’s opportunities for success. Furthermore, to reduce delinquency and or substance abuse dependence among juveniles and their families; to provide treatment and incentives to juveniles rather than incarceration through the use of rewards and sanctions, to encourage a juvenile to progress and succeed. Participants should ultimately display significant improvement in school and family relationships.

Design:

The Drug Court is designed to combine the influential powers of the court with a therapeutic regimen of treatment. This combination fosters the rehabilitation of participants while providing them with a sense of accountability for their actions. This intensive level of court intervention and supervision provides participants and their families with the resources necessary to overcome the scourge of substance abuse.

Program Description:

The Drug Court is a minimum six to twelve month program in which participants are required to attend substance abuse counseling, submit to random drug screens, attend school or obtain a general equivalency diploma (GED), follow court-ordered sanctions, and comply with any other orders issued by the court. Depending on the individual needs and progress, the program can be extended.

Services

Services involve substance abuse treatment but may also include family, grief, anger, behavior, or any other form of therapeutic intervention that is deemed necessary for a participant’s well being.

Schools

The Drug Court works closely with schools and GED programs to promote youth independence after Drug Court. Furthermore, the Drug Court encourages the youth to be gainfully employed or continue their education.

Incentives and Sanctions

The Drug Court program operates on a system of incentives and sanctions that rewards positive behavior by participants as well as responds to non-compliance. Program incentives are one part of the Juvenile Drug Court treatment plan. Incentives are intended to reinforce positive change. They also reward individuals who achieve and maintain treatment goals. The JDC team can reward incentives at a formal court review, or at their discretion.

Failure to comply with the program may result in sanctions imposed by the Judge. Non-compliance is handled in a time effective manner, thus helping youth realize that there are direct and speedy consequences to negative behavior. Any sanctions imposed by the judge are based upon the severity of the offending behavior, taking into account the youth’s history of compliance/non-compliance in the program as well as progress generally. Each juvenile in drug court is considered a unique individual, and so the needs of the child, including the need for sanctions, depend on the unique circumstances of each individual youth.

Monitoring

Participants are monitored by Drug Court program supervisors for progress in treatment at school and at home. Status reports are provided to the court by treatment providers and schools.

Recommendations

Recommendations are made to the judge as to services, levels of care, incentives and sanctions. Prior to each court session, the Drug Court Team meets to discuss the progress of each individual drug court participant.

Graduation

Graduation from the Drug Court occurs when a juvenile has attained his or her treatment and educational goals as set forth in an individual treatment plan. At graduation, the legal charges are dismissed, the plea is vacated and the petitions closed. Click here to see what other graduates said.