Eligibility

Individuals are eligible for participation if they are charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and have no record of violence.  They must also meet the requirements of not having a prior drug sales conviction.  Some individuals are eligible if they have a documented history of drug use and have been convicted of offenses in attempt to support their drug dependency.

Drug Court Services Department

The Drug Court Services Dept. links all relevant criminal justice agencies, community-based treatment providers, and other anti-drug community organizations in the service of the drug court program’s overall goal of creating a criminal justice environment that promotes treatment and recovery.

The primary goals of the Drug Court Services Dept. is to assess and accurately diagnose participants’ underlying alcohol, drug and in some instances, co-occurring disorders, reducing drug-related crime, retaining participants in treatment, and improving the vocational skills and/or educational levels of all the drug court participants.

Savings to Taxpayers

Recent statistics reflect that taxpayers pay an annual cost of $20,000 to $50,000 per defendant to incarcerate a drug-abusing offender.  Treatment in a drug court, however, ranges from approximately $2,500 to $4,000 per offender per year.

 

Moreover, because treatment works, drug court participants are less likely to commit new offenses.  Thus, taxpayers save money that would otherwise be expended on new prosecutions and incarceration of offenders.