Drug Treatment Courts after a Quarter Century: Reflections and a Reappraisal

• In Event: Drug Treatment Courts in the Age of Narcotics Epidemic

Abstract

The first formal drug treatment court was established in Miami-Dade County FL in 1989, and by the early 1990s several other drug courts were established. Some 25 years later, there are an estimated 1538 adult and 433 juvenile drug courts in the U.S., along with other types of problem-solving courts that use elements of the drug court model. Despite this large number of programs, most are relatively small, and adult drug courts have been estimated to serve fewer than 10% of drug-involved offenders. This lack of penetration into the offender population has occurred despite a strong and highly visible national drug court practitioner advocacy organization, consistent federal funding over the past 20 years, and a relatively robust evidence base. From the perspectives of implementation science, organizational change, and interorganizational collaboration models, this presentation (1) reflects on 25 years of research on drug courts and considers reasons for the relative lack of penetration into the drug-involved offender population, (2) proposes a new research agenda for drug courts, and (3) discusses whether modifications in the drug court model might expand its reach into the target population and drive future expansion of effective treatment alternatives to traditional adjudication.

Author

• Steven Belenko, Temple University