Collaborative Efforts

 

All About Virginia’s Drug Court Treatment Programs

Drug courts are specialized dockets within the existing structure of Virginia’s court system offering a dispositional alternative to eligible addicted offenders. The drug court service delivery model is based on best practices in addiction treatment as defined by the National Institute of Drug Abuse including readily available treatment, counseling and other behavioral therapies, and frequent drug testing to monitor any use of drugs or alcohol.

Drug courts represent the “coordinated” efforts of the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health and substance abuse treatment communities, the schools and social services to “actively” and “forcefully” intervene and break the cycle of substance use disorders. Drug court programs were first introduced in 1989 in the state of Florida as an alternative to the ineffective adjudication of offenders with substance use disorders. Nationwide there are now 1,183 drug court programs in operation that work with adults, juveniles and family systems.

Virginia established its first Drug Court Treatment Program in the City of Roanoke in 1995. Since that time, the drug court movement has grown and there are now twenty five operational drug court programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with twelve more in formal planning stages.

The three basic components of drug court programs:

strict and frequent probation supervision with urinalysis testing several times per week;
intensive drug treatment and required attendance at AA/NA several times per week; and
frequent reporting to court with immediate sanctions for relapse or program noncompliance. Drug court participants say that regular appearances before the judge make the difference in this approach working to break their addiction cycle.

Drug Courts have been called the most significant criminal justice initiative in the last century.

Why Does Virginia Need Drug Court Programs?

In Virginia, 32% of all convicted felons are drug offenders and 50% of all convicted felons have evidence of prior drug abuse; 31% are alcohol abusers.

How Effective Are Drug Court Programs?

Drug court costs $4,000 - $6,000 per offender per year; average incarceration costs range from $22,000 to $38,000 per offender per year.
62.77% of Virginia’s drug court participants are currently in treatment or have completed their treatment program versus only 10% of voluntary clients who complete treatment

Virginia’s drug court felony recidivism rate is 5.9% compared with a 50% felony recidivism rate for other Virginia drug offenders handled in traditional ways of probation or incarceration.

What are the cost Benefits of Drug Court Programs?

  • Increased Retention in Treatment
  • Decreased Criminal Re-offending
  • Prevention of Delinquency Escalation
  • Reunification of Families and Substantial Foster Care Cost Savings
  • Health Care Cost Savings of Drug Free Babies
  • Cost Benefits of Avoided Incarceration

What is the Virginia Drug Court Association?

The Virginia Drug Court Association represents professionals, participants, and supporters of operational and planned drug court programs in the Commonwealth. Virginia now has twenty-four operational drug courts with 12 more planned. It is the mission of the Virginia Drug Court Association to support the planning, implementation and maintenance of drug court initiatives utilizing judicially directed supervision and treatment by providing training, mentoring, collective advocacy and policy development.

Members include Drug Court Program Administrators, judges and other court personnel, probation or parole officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, government officials and Drug Court program staff members, law enforcement officers and other law enforcement personnel, chemical dependency counselors and treatment providers, planners, elected officials, graduates of the drug court program, and other interested persons.

To learn more about Virginia’s Drug Court Programs or the Virginia Drug Court Association, contact: Ms. Patty Gilbertson @ 757.245.0217 or visit the VDCA Website at www.vdca.net.
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