The primary objective of this TIP, titled Treatment Drug Courts: Integrating Substance Abuse Treatment With Legal Case Processing, is to help policymakers and practitioners plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate programs that effectively integrate treatment in the pretrial processing of criminal cases. TIP 12 in this series, Combining Substance Abuse Treatment With Intermediate Sanctions for Adults in the Criminal Justice System, focuses on treatment options for offenders after they have been found guilty by a judge or jury.

A focus on treatment intervention during the pretrial process has important implications for the nature of the interrelationship between the justice system and treatment providers. Defendants who have been arrested but not yet convicted are legally presumed innocent; they cannot be compelled to participate in a treatment program.

The focus on pretrial intervention also has implications for decisions about the categories of individuals who will be targeted for intervention; for the nature and timing of screening and assessment activities; for the consequences that can be imposed for treatment "failure" or noncompliance with conditions; and for a host of other program design and implementation issues.

This TIP was developed to encourage agencies creating and participating in these programs to share information about their successes -- and failures -- so that substance abuse treatment will be effectively integrated into pretrial case processing.

Contents

• What Is a TIP?
• Consensus Panel
• Foreword
• Chapter 1—Introduction
  • What Are Treatment Drug Courts?
  • Potential Benefits of Systems Integration
  • Scope and Objectives of This TIP
  • The Diversity of Drug Court Models
  • The Purpose of This TIP
  • Organization of This TIP
  • Endnote
• Chapter 2—Key Elements of Treatment Drug Courts
  • Understanding Each System's Basic Values and Perspectives
  • Developing Shared Goals
  • The Key Role of Information
  • Leadership
• Chapter 3—Program Planning
  • Who Should Be Involved?
  • Planning Committee Structure
  • Information Needed for Program Planning
  • Determining the Target Population and Possible Points of Intervention
• Chapter 4—Designing the Program
  • Screening
  • Assessment
  • Determining Categories of Care and Components of Treatment
  • Program Admission Criteria and Procedures
  • "Relapse" Policies and Judicial Supervision of the Defendant's Progress in Treatment
  • Staffing and Cross-System Liaison
  • Management of Information
  • Program Monitoring
• Chapter 5—Implementation
  • Personnel Selection
  • Facilities and Transportation
  • Education and Training
  • Startup Operations
  • Checking Up on the Program
  • Ongoing Operations
  • Case Management Checklist
  • Feedback Mechanisms and Program Adjustments
• Chapter 6—Program Evaluation
  • Process Evaluations
  • Outcome Evaluations
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Selecting an Evaluator
  • Funding for an Evaluation
• Chapter 7—Program Costs and Financing
  • Identifying Program Costs
  • Funding Strategies
• Chapter 8—Legal and Ethical Issues
  • Equal Protection
  • Due Process
  • Federal and State Confidentiality Laws
  • Information About Patients
  • Responding to Patients' Disclosures of Criminal Activity
  • Conducting Research in Accordance With Confidentiality Laws and Regulations
• Appendix A -- Bibliography
• Appendix B—Federal Resource Panel
• Appendix C—Federal Resource Panel

This publication is part of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant technical assistance program. This publication was written under contract numbers ADM 270-91-0007 and 95-0013. Sandra Clunies, M.S., served as the CSAT Government project officer. Nicholas L Demos, JD was the Government content adviser. Writers were Deborah Shuman, Randi Henderson, Mary Shilton, James R. Sevick, Carolyn Davis, Jennie Heard, and Virginia Vitzthum.

The opinions expressed herein are the views of the Consensus Panel members and do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). No official support or endorsement of CSAT or DHHS for these opinions or for particular instruments or software that may be described in this document is intended or should be inferred. The guidelines in this document should not be considered substitutes for individualized patient care and treatment decisions.