NCJ Number
189689
Date Published
March 2000
Length
32 pages
Annotation
An analysis and evaluation was conducted on seven adult Drug Courts in Oklahoma representing six judicial districts that encompassed the counties of Creek, McClain, Oklahoma, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, and Tulsa.
Abstract
Through a grant from the District Attorneys Council, the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services conducted an initial assessment and evaluation of the Oklahoma Drug Courts. Seven adult Drug Courts representing six Judicial Districts were analyzed in the following counties: Creek, McClain, Oklahoma, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, and Tulsa. The information presented included: key components required of Drug Courts, selected demographic variables for Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Drug Court system, and several variables related to Oklahoma Drug Court clients/participants. Some interesting participant variables analyzed were previous arrests and prior felony convictions, drug of choice, employment status, relapse, retention rate, and sanctions. There are 10 key components that make up a Drug Court. Two problematic components consisted of the Drug Courts failing to attend a staff training session, designed specifically for Drug Courts, nor promoting continuing education for key staff, and the Drug Courts inability to leverage needed assets from the community, enter into formal partnerships with other agencies or hire professional staff to provide ongoing support for Drug Court programs. The findings demonstrated the following: (1) the median age was 33 years; (2) demographics showed 72 percent Caucasian, 14 percent African American, 12 percent Native American, and 2 percent Hispanic; (3) 66 percent were men and 34 percent were women; (4) the median number of previous arrests was 1; (5) the median number of prior felony convictions was 0; (6) the median failure sentence was 24 months or 2 years; (7) possession of CDS accounts for the highest percentage of current convictions at over 32 percent, possession of paraphernalia and possession of marijuana follow at 14.6 and 14.3 percent respectively; (8) the most common drug of choice was marijuana at 36 percent, methamphetamine and alcohol followed at 24 and 21 percent respectively; (9) there was an 11 percent decrease in the unemployment level measured between the time period prior to Drug Court (38 percent) and during Drug Court (27 percent); (10) 47 percent of program participants experienced a relapse as defined by testing positive on their urinalysis tests; (11) 56 percent of all relapses were for using the original drug of choice; (12) the most frequent causes of sanction were testing positive for drugs at 38 percent, missed appointments at 20 percent, and absent without leave (AWOL) 12 percent; (13) the most common types of sanction imposed were jail, community service, and termination from the Drug Court program; and (14) the retention rate, which was well above the national average, is 79 percent. However, this did not account for those who were currently AWOL. Many of the findings were early indications of success. It was recommended that on-going evaluations be performed to provide longitudinal analyses. References and Appendices