NCJ Number
193200
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 1-25
Date Published
2001
Length
25 pages
Annotation
A needs assessment conducted in Kentucky sought to determine the counties in which a drug court program was needed and feasible.
Abstract
The first phase of the assessment collected data from secondary sources and analyzed the data by county to determine which counties to target in the next phase of the research. The analysis included 107 of Kentucky’s 120 counties and determined that 12 counties were appropriate for further assessment. The second phase of the research considered which of the 12 counties most needing a drug court were ready to implement a program. Results indicated that four counties were ready to apply for a planning grant, four counties needed further information about drug courts and were close to being ready to apply, and two counties needed more information and had judges who supported the concept of drug courts. Results also indicated that about half of each group of counties had sufficient community resources; half had more limited resources. In addition, several indicators suggested the possible need for juvenile drug court programs. Two counties were unable to consider a drug court program at the time of the study. The analysis concluded that the needs assessment represented a research-based procedure for determining where to direct resources for establishing drug courts and that other jurisdictions could use the same approach to conduct needs assessments regarding drug courts. Tables and 19 references