Painting the Current Picture:

1
Painting the Current Picture

• A National Report Card on Drug Courts and Other
  Problem-Solving Courts in the United States
• C. West Huddleston
• Hon. Karen Freeman-Wilson
• Donna Boone, Ph.D.
• Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive
  Office of the President and the Bureau of Justice
  Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice

2
Painting the Current Picture A National Report
Card

• To present the latest information regarding the
  impact of Drug Courts as stated in the current
  literature
• and
• To provide an aggregate summary of survey results
  from each state regarding the number and type of
  problem-solving court programs in operation
  nationally

3
Judge as Problem-Solver

• Effective trial courts are responsive to
  emergent public issues such as drug abuseA trial
  court that moves deliberately in response to
  emergent issues is a stabilizing force in society
  and acts consistently with its role of
  maintaining the rule of law
• Bureau of Justice
  Assistances Trial Court Performance Standards,
  1997

4

• Drug Courts
• A National Phenomenon

5
Number of Drug Courts
6
2004 Drug Court Activity

• 1,183 drug courts in operation
• 625 actively planning

7
Drug Court Activity

• 1,183 drug courts in operation
• 666 Adult Drug Courts
• 268 Juvenile Drug Courts
• 112 Family Dependency Treatment Courts
• 42 DUI/Drug Courts
• 52 Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts
• 42 Reentry Drug Courts
• 1 Campus Drug Court

8
Benefits of Drug Court
9
Belenko (1998 2001)

• drug courts provide the most comprehensive and
  effective control of drug-using offenders
  criminality and drug usage while under the
  courts supervision.

10
Marlowe, DeMatteo, Festinger (2003)

• To put it bluntly, we know that drug courts
  outperform virtually all other strategies that
  have been attempted for drug-involved offenders.

11
Benefits of Drug Court

• Drug Courts Reduce
• Criminal Involvement

12
National Research

• 2020 Graduates from 95 Drug Courts
• Representing 17,000 Graduates
• 1 Year Post Graduation 16.4
• 2 Years Post Graduation 27.5
• Roman,
  Townsend Bhati, 2003

13
National Research

• The body of literature on recidivism is
• now strong enough to conclude that completing a
  drug court program reduces the likelihood of
  further involvement in the
• criminal justice system.
• Vera
  Fluellen Trone, 2000

14
Statewide Research

• Rearrest rate among 18,000 drug offenders who
  had completed drug court throughout New York
  state was, on average, 29 percent lower (13 to
  47) over three years than comparison group.
• Repel, et.
  al., 2003

15
Benefits of Drug Court

• Drug Courts Save Money

16
Drug Courts Save Money

• A state taxpayers return on the upfront
  investment in drug courts
• is substantial.
• a countys investment in drug
• court pays off.

17
Statewide Research

• New York Statewide Drug Court System saved 254
  Million in three years
• Rempel et al, 2003

18
Statewide Research

• The average drug court participant produces
  6,779 in benefits with 3,759 in avoided
  criminal justice costs paid by taxpayers and
  3,020 in avoided costs to victims.
• 
  Washington State
  Institute for Public Policy, 2003

19
Statewide Research

• California drug courts demonstrate a savings of
  18 million per year. A 14 million investment
  returned 43.3 million in savings over two years.
• 
  Judicial Council of
  California 2002
• 
  NPC Research Judicial Council of
  California 2002

20
Local Research

• In St. Louis, MO, each drug court graduate cost
  the city 2,615 less than those on probation
  alone. The savings were realized in higher wages
  and related taxes paid, as well as lower costs
  for health care and mental health services.
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
  Institute for Applied Research, 2004
• 
  

21
Local Research

• For every dollar spent on drug court in
  Multnomah County, Oregon, ten dollars were
  saved.
• Finigan,
  1998
• A total savings to the local taxpayer over a
  thirty-month period was 5,071.57 or a savings of
  1,521,471 per year.
• Carey
  Finigan, 2003

22
Local Research

• For every dollar spent on drug court in Dallas,
  Texas, 9.43 in tax dollars was realized over a
  forty-month period.
• 
  Fomby
  Rangaprasad, 2002

23
Benefits of Drug Courts

• Drug Courts Increase Retention in Treatment

24
Treatment Research Findings

• The length of time a patient spent in treatment
  was a reliable predictor of his or her post
  treatment performance.
• Beyond a ninety-day threshold, treatment
  outcomes improved in a direct relationship to the
  length of time spent in treatment, with one year
  generally found to be the minimum effective
  duration of treatment.
• Coerced patients tended to stay longer. This
  was in light of the finding that most of the
  legally coerced addicts had more crime and gang
  involvement, more drug use, and worse employment
  records than their non-coerced counterparts.

25
? Retention in Treatment

• Drug Courts exceed these abysmal projections
  This represents a six-fold increase in treatment
  retention over most previous efforts.
• 
  Marlowe, Dematteo, Festinger, 2003

26

• 67-71 of those who begin Drug Court are
  successfully discharged/graduate

27
Drug Court Permutations

• Problem Solving in the Courts Taking the Model
  to Other Populations

28
National Resolutions

• Continued development of problem-solving courts
  
• 
  American Bar Association, 2001
• To take steps nationally and locally to expand
  the methods and principles of well-functioning
  drug courts into ongoing court operations
• Conference of Chief Justices and the
  Conference of Court Administrators, 2000

29
Defining Problem-Solving Courts

• Adult Drug Courts
• Juvenile Drug Courts
• Family Dependency Treatment Courts
• DWI/Drug Courts
• Reentry Drug Courts
• Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts
• Campus Drug Courts
• Community Courts
• Mental Health Courts
• Teen Courts
• Domestic Violence Courts

30
Aggregate Number of Problem-Solving Courts in the
U.S.

• DWI/DUID Courts 42
• Teen Courts 255
• Mental Health Courts - 59
• Domestic Violence Courts 79
• Community Courts - 15
• Reentry Courts 11
• Campus Drug Courts - 1
• Other-65
• Prostitution Courts, Parole Violation Courts,
  Homeless Courts, Truancy Courts, Child Support
  Courts, etc.

31

• Number Type of Operational Problem-Solving
  Court Programs in the United States
• 1,667

32

• Aiming to Solve the Problems of the People Who
  Come Before the Courts is
• Work Worth Doing!

33

• For a copy of the full document,
• Painting the Current Picture go to www.ndci.org