Drug Courts
Research to Practice Initiative
The Adult Drug Court Research to Practice Initiative promotes the dissemination of emerging research on drug courts.
A drug court is a specialized or problem-solving court-based program that targets criminal offenders and parents with pending child welfare cases who have alcohol and other drug addiction and dependency problems.
As of December 31, 2011, there were over 2600 drug courts operating throughout the U.S. More than half of these target adult offenders; others address juvenile, child welfare and different court case types.
Adult Drug Court Locations in the United States
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| Type of Drug Court | Number |
|---|---|
| Adult Drug Courts | 1,435 [2] |
| Juvenile Drug Courts [3] | 458 |
| Family Drug Courts | 329 |
| Tribal Drug Courts | 79 |
| Designated DUI Courts | 192 |
| Campus Drug Courts | 5 |
| Reentry Drug Courts | 31 |
| Federal Reentry Drug Courts | 46 |
| Veterans Drug Courts | 95 |
| Co-Occurring Disorder Courts | 20 |
The Drug Court Model
Although adult drug courts vary in target population, program model and service resources, they are generally based on a comprehensive model involving:
- Offender assessment.
- Judicial interaction.
- Monitoring (e.g., drug testing) and supervision.
- Graduated sanctions and incentives.
- Treatment services.
Drug court programs are usually managed by a nonadversarial and multidisciplinary team. Recent research has shown that the stability of a drug court program and its judge play a key role in successful case management and reducing offender recidivism.
For more information on adult and juvenile drug court program models:
- Defining Drug Courts: The Key Components (pdf, pages 32), January 1997, Reprinted October 2004, National Association of Drug Court Professionals
- Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice (pdf, 82 pages), March 2003, National Drug Court institute and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Notes
[1] Statistics are taken from the National Drug Court Institute website Exit Notice, accessed May 11, 2012.
[2] 406 of the 1,435 adult drug courts are hybrid DWI/Drug Courts.
[3] Juvenile drug courts try to address the unique circumstances surrounding adolescent delinquency coupled with substance abuse. For more information on juvenile drug courts, see:
- The Bureau of Justice Assistance report Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice.
- "Drug Court Intervention for Juveniles," in Drug Courts: The Second Decade: 21-25.
- Jeffrey A. Butts ; Roman, J., Juvenile Drug Courts and Teen Substance Abuse, Washington, D.C., Urban Institute Press, 2004. See NCJRS abstract.
