NCJ Number
202736
Date Published
2001
Length
96 pages
Annotation
This final project report presents findings from a process evaluation of Buffalo, NY’s Adult Drug Treatment Court from January 1996 to December 2001.
Abstract
This article details the devastating impact of drugs and drug-related crime on the community and the justice system in Buffalo the second largest city in the State of New York. In order to combat drugs and drug-related crime, the Buffalo City Court implemented the Buffalo Drug Treatment Court (BDTC) in January 1996. This article presents literature review addressing crime, drugs, and the inception of various drug courts, and describes the BDTC as reflecting a combination of court-monitored and mandated substance use treatment and case management procedures. It discusses the stages of criminal processing, court structure, treatment program components, and target populations of drug court programs, and compares the effectiveness of the drug court approach and the traditional case approach, indicating that the BDTC’s primary goal is to promote the safety and well being of the community. Detailing the evaluation of the BDTC, the article describes 25 site visits, semi-structured interviews, and the drug court survey that provided the data for evaluation. Indicating the 10 key components of drug courts and the BDTC’s implementation of each, the article describes the integration of alcohol and drug treatment services with justice case processing, the use of a non-adversarial approach, the identification of eligible participants, and coordinated strategies as an effective ways to govern drug court compliance. The authors suggest that the BDTC has been implanted as originally envisioned and has achieved its stated goals. Focusing on the BDTC program and components development, the article describes the Court Outreach Unit and the Community Partnership for Change. Addressing the BDTC process, the article defines the roles of the judges and describe the voluntary participation of drug offense defendants. The authors suggest that in its 6 years of operation the BDTC has been able to provide effective treatment for drug offenders and that the BDTC has significantly enhanced the efficacy of law enforcement functions. A series of recommendations for improving the levels of care and drug treatment are followed by appendices listing the members of the Buffalo City Court Criminal Justice Task Force, various contact information, and a copy of the BDTC’s Drug Court contract.