The article refers to drug courts, their description, purpose, management, development, and dissemination. Drug courts are defined as “specialized court docket programs” that contain all essential information about defendants, criminal offenders, juvenile perpetrators, and parents with pending cases of child welfare who have alcohol, drug, and other substances addiction (U.S. Department of Justice, 2018, p. 1). These programs are traditionally managed by an interdisciplinary team of judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, treatment service professionals, social workers, and community corrections officers (U.S. Department of Justice, 2018). The purpose of drug courts is the reducing drug use and repetitions of crimes among criminal defendants and offenders through multiple rehabilitation services, medical treatment, supervision, monitoring, and judicial interaction. These programs provide accountability for all included people, they address the issues of drug use, promote awareness, offer education and medical assistance, and help families to strengthen against drug dependency. Family drug courts focus on treatment for parents with substance addiction, these programs have a goal to help parents become financially and emotionally self-sufficient to perform their parental duties efficiently.
Drug courts are supported and developed by multiple organizations through sponsorship. The Bureau of Justice Assistance promotes the development of drug courts and their popularization among the targeted population “through financial grants and other assistance” (U.S. Department of Justice, 2018, p. 1). Family and juvenile drug court programs are sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (U.S. Department of Justice, 2018). According to the researches of NIJ’s Multisite Adult Drug Court Evaluation, drug courts are effective in crime prevention and reducing drug use due to higher investments in treatment services in comparison with traditional court supervision (U.S. Department of Justice, 2018). These programs are currently developing, and new information and services are subsequently included as well.
Reference
U.S. Department of Justice. (2018). Drug courts[PDF file]. Web.