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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:41 am
Time: 3:41 am
Results for drugs courts (michigan)
1 results foundAuthor: Ottawa County Planning Department Title: Program Evaluation - Ottawa County Sobriety/Drug Courts - (58th District Sobriety Court, 20th Circuit Adult Drug Court, 20th Circuit Juvenile Drug Court) Summary: Over the past decade, sobriety and drug courts have been established throughout the nation as a new way to address substance abuse problems among criminal offenders. These courts seek to treat the needs of alcohol or drug-dependent offenders in a relational, non-adversarial approach, while at the same time, requiring accountability and a structured lifestyle. This balance between therapeutic and sanction-based programming has increased the popularity of these courts immensely among judges and their staff. Sobriety courts are designed primarily for offenders with serious alcohol-dependencies, while drug courts are designed primarily for offenders with serious drug-dependencies (i.e. crack, heroine, cocaine, prescription drugs, other). However, both courts can accept and process offenders who have either (or both) alcohol and drug-dependencies. The Circuit and District Court judges in Ottawa County were prompted to explore the use of sobriety and drug courts in their dockets based on the numerous positive accolades this approach to substance abuse treatment had received in recent years. Judge Susan Jonas launched the first Ottawa County District Sobriety Court in May 2004, and Judge Bradley Knoll followed with a second District Sobriety Court in October 2004. Judge Mark Feyen initiated a Juvenile Drug Court in October 2004 and an Adult Circuit Drug Court in January 2005. The team members responsible for implementing the sobriety/drug courts all have a positive view of their involvement in the sobriety/drug courts. In fact, because team members find it is more therapeutic for participants than being solely punitive, many say that this is the most satisfying work they have ever performed in the criminal justice system. Based on self-reported performance from District Sobriety Court graduates, it appears to be popular with many of the graduates as well. Since the adult sobriety/drug court programs require an average of 17 months to complete, and the courts have only been operational for 20-24 months, there are only a few program graduates who can be evaluated to determine the long-term impacts (i.e. sobriety and recidivism) of the program. Furthermore, operational issues that were recently addressed in the Juvenile Drug Court also affect the completion of the evaluation at this time. Despite the inability to look at long-term, outcome-based measures, it was still possible to assess all three courts to determine their administrative and operational performance, as well as, relative cost. In the District Sobriety Court, the total cost per participant was $6,168. As a comparison, the total average cost for a similar offender sentenced to traditional probation is $1,926, and the average cost for a similar offender sentenced to Intensive Supervision Probation in the Grand Haven District Court and in the Hudsonville District Court is $2,907 and $3,105, respectively. In the Circuit Drug Court, the total cost per participant was $14,563. At the time of this evaluation, comparison group data were not available. Since Circuit Drug Court involves participants with felony charges, it is expected that sentencing practices, program intensity, and associated expenses would be greater than Sobriety Court. In the Juvenile Drug Court, the total cost per participant was $5,285. As a comparison, the total average cost for a juvenile offender enrolled in the Juvenile Community Justice (JCJ) program is $14,698. Another issue that will need to be factored into the overall cost of sobriety/drug courts is the program expense presently being funded through grant dollars. When these grants expire, financial support will likely be sought from the County to replace 80% of grant funding presently being used for salaries, programming, drug/alcohol testing, and other program expenses. The remaining 20% of the grant funding, on average, is in the form of inkind contributions, so it will not have to be replaced. The total replacement funds needed could be as high as $866,542 beginning 2011/12. It is important to note that the outcome-based success and relative expense of the sobriety/drug court programs can only be calculated by comparing program cost, completion rates, and recidivism rates to other existing treatment programs when more data become available for analysis in 2008/09. Nevertheless, this report does provide several recommendations for administrative and operational improvements, as well as a detailed overview of the relative cost of each program. Details: Ottawa County, MI: Ottawa County Planning Department, 2006. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 22, 2012 at http://www.co.ottawa.mi.us/CoGov/Depts/Planning/pdf/SobrietyDrugCourtsEval2006.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.co.ottawa.mi.us/CoGov/Depts/Planning/pdf/SobrietyDrugCourtsEval2006.pdf Shelf Number: 123721 Keywords: Adult OffendersDrug Treatment ProgramsDrugs Courts (Michigan)Juvenile OffendersProblem-Solving CourtsRecidivismSubstance Abuse |