This report presents findings from the second phase evaluation on the development and impact of the Philadelphia Treatment Court, Philadelphia's drug court from 1998 to 2000.
At the time of this report, the Philadelphia Treatment Court was in its fourth year of operation. Summary findings indicate that during its first formal phase of operation, 1998-2000, about 2,000 defendants were referred to treatment court and nearly 400 were enrolled and attended treatment: as of August 2001, about 351 participants had graduated from the Treatment Court after having met the requirements of the treatment process and the court program; and Treatment Court participants recorded either the lowest or one of the lowest failure to appear and rearrest rates and spent fewer days in confinement during the followup periods studied than most other defendants. This report describes findings from the evaluation of the Philadelphia Treatment Court in its second phase, beginning in January 1998. The research builds off earlier reports which examined the Treatment Court during its pilot period. The findings provide in-depth feedback on the progress and impact of Pennsylvania's first drug court and a drug court of national importance, as it is one of the nation's largest and most challenging in an urban court system. Figures, references and appendixes A-C