Treatment Court: Is Yours Sustainable? (Part 4)

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Tuesday, 19 February 2019 / Published in Drug Courts, DWI Courts, Mental Health Courts, Problem Solving Courts, Veterans Courts
Sustainability is much more than having money to operate your Treatment Court. Sustainability requires a plan on the necessary steps to operate the Treatment Court: it requires that the community is educated about the program’s success; and it requires that non-monetary sources are located that can support the Court’s efforts. Sufficient funds are just one part of an overall plan for sustainability.

Treatment Court: Is Yours Sustainable? (Part Three)

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Tuesday, 10 July 2018 / Published in Drug Courts, DWI Courts, Mental Health Courts, Problem Solving Courts, Veterans Courts
As you develop your sustainability plan, it can be easy to overlook those resources that may not have a financial cost for your court. Once you have your concepts, develop the steps and then ASK! It’s amazing what Treatment Courts can achieve when they set their collective mind to it.

Treatment Court: Is Yours Sustainable? (Part Two)

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Tuesday, 26 June 2018 / Published in Drug Courts, DWI Courts, Mental Health Courts, Problem Solving Courts, Veterans Courts
Part Two – Marketing Your Treatment Court Typically, the court system does not promote or advertise its work.  Sadly, it is not like the court system has a shortage of “clients.” There is no need to advertise. Even worse, many of its “clients” are repeat customers.  The same is true for Treatment Courts; there is no shortage

Treatment Court: Is Yours Sustainable? (Part One)

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Tuesday, 05 June 2018 / Published in Drug Courts, DWI Courts, Mental Health Courts, Problem Solving Courts, Veterans Courts
Part One – A Sustainability Plan When I was the Senior Director at NADCP’s National Center for DWI Courts, I trained new teams on how to implement DWI Courts, and one of the most common questions I received was: How do we “fund” the court?  Treatment Courts[1]are one of the most effective criminal justice programs
Developing Phases in Drug/DWI Courts
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Tuesday, 05 July 2016 / Published in Concepts in Problem Solving Courts, Drug Courts, DWI Courts, Problem Solving Courts
Developing Phases in Drug/DWI Courts Why have phases? Virtually all adult drug courts and DWI courts have phases to provide structure for the program and recognize benchmarks along the way to graduation. Drug/DWI Courts tend to be long, rigorous programs, lasting one to two years. Giving the program structure gives the participant bite size pieces
Understanding Addiction: An Old Dog Learning New Tricks
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Tuesday, 24 May 2016 / Published in DWI Courts, Problem Solving Courts, Substance Use Disorder
Understanding Addiction: An Old Dog Learning New Tricks Over thirty years ago, I walked into a courtroom located in Eaton County, Michigan. I was a new assistant prosecuting attorney (APA) eager to start doing jury trials, to make my community a safer place. I became an APA because I believe that holding people accountable for
Combating DWI—Have We Done Enough?
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Saturday, 01 August 2015 / Published in Alcohol, Alcohol Use Disorder, DWI Courts, Impaired Driving, Problem Solving Courts, Substance Use Disorder, Traffic Safety, Treatment
Combating DWI—Have We Done Enough? May 14th, 1988 is a day that will long be remembered by many.  On that day, the deadliest impaired driving crash in U.S. history occurred on Interstate 71 in Carrollton, Kentucky.  An impaired driver in a pickup truck going the wrong way on the interstate hit a church activity bus