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Prevention/Treatment Initatives - Focus on Drug Courts |
January '99 |
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Since its designation in January, 1997, the NW
HIDTA has had the opportunity and privilege to actively contribute to the growth of Drug
Courts throughout the region. The Drug Court Development Initiative has and continues to
thrive as the largest Prevention/Treatment initiative in the NW HIDTA strategy. The original Drug Court model was developed in 1989 by Janet Reno during her tenure as the Dade County Prosecuting Attorney. The model has since proliferated across the country to include approximately 400 drug courts to date. A Drug Court is a special court given the responsibility to handle cases involving drug-using offenders through comprehensive supervision, drug testing, treatment services and immediate sanctions and incentives. Unlike traditional adjudication processes, a Drug Court brings the judge, prosecutor, defense bar, law enforcement, corrections and treatment communities together as a team, setting aside the adversarial agendas that have historically characterized their relationships. In Washington State, Drug Courts have been implemented at the County Superior Court level, focusing on felony drug offenders who have been charged with crimes less serious than distribution or manufacturing and who do not have a history of violent or sexual offenses. The programs are additionally post-adjudication models, meaning that as a condition of participation, the defendant stipulates to the police report and is subject to an immediate maximum sentence should he or she be terminated from the program. If, however, the participant successfully completes the 12-18 month program, the charge is expunged from his or her record and a strong start toward a clean, sober and law-abiding life has been achieved. Within the NW HIDTA region, the King County and Pierce County Drug Courts are each approaching their fifth anniversaries of operation; the Skagit County Drug Court has just completed its first year of operation, and the Thurston County Drug Court will observe its first anniversary later this Spring. In addition, Whatcom, Snohomish and Yakima counties have been awarded FY99 planning grants from the Department of Justice Drug Court Programs Office in order to begin the process of designing and implementing Drug Courts. Outside of the HIDTA region, Spokane County has been operating a Drug Court since 1995, Clallam County has operationalized the only program serving juveniles at present, and the Makah Indian Tribal Council has established the first tribal Drug Court in the state. It is also anticipated that Kitsap, Clark, Cowlitz and Island counties will proceed with planning activities in the future. The NW HIDTA Drug Court Development Initiative supported the programs in King, Pierce and Thurston counties during FY98, providing resources for enhanced treatment services in King and Pierce counties and initial operating costs in Thurston County. Together, this support provided a capacity to serve over 350 participants and contributed to the training and administrative activities in each jurisdiction. In FY99 the NW HIDTA will begin to place more emphasis on the development of a regional Management Information System for Drug Court Programs, and a partnership with the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute to implement a regional program evaluation model. The NW HIDTA has also assisted in the establishment of the Washington State Association of Drug Court Professionals (WSADCP), an affiliate of the national organization and a vehicle for the programs in this state to collaborate on a more active basis. Drug Courts are effective in reducing crime within the community, recidivism among drug-involved offenders, costs within the criminal justice system and the need to continue to expand correctional capacities. They have strengthened the impact and outcomes of drug treatment and, in the words of General McCaffrey, ONDCP Director, "The establishment of drug courts, coupled with [their] judicial leadership, constitutes one of the most monumental changes in social justice in this country since World War II." For more information, please call Steve Freng at (206) 394-3603 or the WSADCP office at (253) 572-4750.
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