An Evaluation of Federal Specialty Courts in Connecticut

• In Event: Case Processing and Decision Points in the Federal System

Abstract

In recent decades, as federal courts received increasing numbers of drug-involved offenders, jurisdictions began to implement various strategies for assessing and treating the risks and needs of these individuals. In the District of Connecticut, Support Court was initiated approximately 10 years ago to target both pretrial defendants and individuals on post-conviction supervision who are at heightened risk of continued or renewed substance abuse and recidivism. Through an established researcher-practitioner partnership, the three federal Support Courts existing in Connecticut are being evaluated. This research is progressing through stages of evaluability assessment, process evaluation, and impact assessment. Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative data, currents results and policy implications will be shared, and plans for ongoing research will be discussed.

Authors

• David Myers, University of New Haven

• Joseph Dule, University of New Haven

• Kevin Earl, University of New Haven

• Mengbei Wang, University of New Haven

• Timothy Daty, University of New Haven