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Current Developments_____________________________

 

Current Developments Outside New York_______________

 

Special Reports___________________________________

DRUG COURT DEVELOPMENTS
New and additional drug courts are appearing in counties throughout New YorkState. While many have begun operation, more are in the planning stages.

 

Reports_________________________________________

Family Dependency Treatment Courts: Addressing Child Abuse and Neglect Cases Using the Drug Court Model (BJA 2005). This report examines the experiences of family dependency treatment courts derived from focus group studies in 1999. These courts handle cases of child abuse and neglect related to substance abuse by parents or caregivers. The report was prepared by the National Drug Court Institute and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
 

New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation: Policies, Participants and Impacts (CCI 2003). This is an analysis of the effectiveness of New York's drug court program. It includes information on policies, and participant characteristics and performance in eleven drug courts. The study examined recidivism rates and program elements that improved the chances of successful outcomes. The report was prepared by the New York State Unified Court System and the Center for Court Innovation.
 

New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation (CCI 2003). This report is a review and analysis of the policies and practices of 11 drug courts in New YorkState. It includes data on profiles of drug court participants, treatment and recovery, compliance results, recidivism rates, impact evaluations of specific courts, and conclusions about the future of drug court development. The study was conducted by the Center for Court Innovation.
 

Drug Court Report Year 2 (OCA 2003). This report describes the progress of the New York State Drug Court Program during 2001-2002. It evaluates the work of existing drug courts, characteristics of participants, and includes plans for expansion.
 

Drug Court Monitoring, Evaluation, and Management Information Systems: National Scope Needs Assessment (BJA 2003). This is a report on the assessment of drug court programs by the National Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Program. It focuses on the first national survey of drug court evaluation requirements. The report describes the need for training and technical assistance in managing information of drug court operations.
 

Public Domain Drug Court Software: Functions and Utility (BJA 2003). The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics surveyed software developers and observed operations in agencies and drug courts using public domain software programs. This report describes the features and capabilities of systems developed by drug court programs in various jurisdictions.
 

Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice (BJA 2003). This report was based on input from juvenile drug court practitioners, researchers, and educators from across the country brought together by the National Drug Court Institute . It describes the framework for implementing a juvenile drug court and identifies the key components of an effective system.
 

Honest Chance: Perspectives on Drug Courts (DCPO 2002). This report was published by the Drug Courts Program Office of the Department of Justice. It describes the results of focus group discussions with participants in six different drug courts. Participant responses are interspersed among the findings. The report concludes with an evaluation of the drug court program and recommendations for improvement.
 

Resolution Regarding Indigent Defense in Drug Courts (NADCP 2002). This resolution describes the role of public defense in drug courts. It was based on the Ten Tenets of Fair and Effective Problem Solving Courts (American Council of Chief Defenders).
 

Supervised Treatment in the Criminal Court: A Process Evaluation of the Manhattan Misdemeanor Drug Court (Vera Institute of Justice 2002). This report describes the experiences of the Manhattan Misdemeanor Treatment Court and offers lessons for future drug court implementation.
 

Drug Courts: Better DOJ Data Collection and Evaluation Efforts Needed to Measure Impact of Drug Court Programs (GAO 2002). According to the Government Accounting Office, the Department of Justice has not been able to complete its evaluation of federally funded drug court programs due to a lack of vital information and various administrative problems. For more information, see DOJ Has Lost Track of Drug Courts , American Bar Association Journal, April 24, 2002
 

Treatment Alternatives in the Criminal Court: A Process Evaluation of the Bronx County Drug Court (Vera Institute of Justice 2001). This is a report on the implementation evaluation of the Bronx Treatment Court in its first 18 months of operation.
 

Ten Tenets of Fair and Effective Problem Solving Courts (American Council of Chief Defenders) (PDF) "The following guidelines have been developed to increase both the fairness and the effectiveness of Problem Solving Courts, while addressing concerns regarding the defense role within them. They are based upon the research done in the drug court arena by pretrial services experts and others and the extensive collective expertise that defender chiefs have developed as a result of their experiences with the many different specialty courts across the country."
 

Treatment Services in Adult Drug Courts: Report on the 1999 National Drug Court Treatment Survey (OJP 2001). "The results of this national survey show clearly that treatment services designed for and used by drug courts comport with scientifically established principles of treatment effectiveness. . . . The standards promulgated in these documents present succinct descriptions of treatment delivery methods that have been effective with offender and other populations and serve as a guide to present survey findings in the context of effective professional practices."
 

Research on Drug Courts: A Critical Review (CASA 2001). "This is a critical review of 37 published and unpublished evaluations of drug courts (including seven juvenile drug courts, one DUI court, and one family drug court) produced between 1999 and April 2001. . . . Drug courts have achieved considerable local support and have provided intensive, long-term treatment services to offenders with long histories of drug use and criminal justice contacts, previous treatment failures, and high rates of health and social problems."
 

Confronting the Cycle of Addiction & Recidivism: A Report to Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye by the New York State Commission on Drugs and the Courts (June 2000). Among the commission's recommendations for addressing the increasing number of drug offenses in the criminal justice system was the implementation of drug courts and drug treatment alternatives statewide.
 

The Rebirth of Rehabilitation: Promise and Perils of Drug Courts (NIJ 2000). This reports is " framed by an exploration of the possibilities drug courts offer for improving public safety and the pitfalls they may face. It is set in the context of the shift away from indeterminate sentencing, which occurred about the same time strong, empirically based evidence of the link between drugs and crime and the efficacy of treatment was coming to light."
 

Problem Solving Courts: A Brief Primer (CCI 2001). "This essay . . . traces the history of problem-solving courts, outlines a basic set of problem-solving principles and poses a set of questions that are worthy of further study as problem-solving courts move from experiment to institutionalization ."
 

What We Know About the Impact of Drug Courts (2000). The testimony of John S. Goldkamp, Professor of Criminal Justice, Temple University, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Youth Violence, in which he reviewed the impacts of drug courts and research into their effectiveness.
 

Evaluation of the D.C. Superior Court Drug Intervention Programs (NIJ 2000). "An evaluation of the impact of two D.C. Superior Court experimental interventions on drug-involved defendants in Washington."
 

Drug Testing in a Drug Court Environment (OJP 2000). This paper addresses "the most frequent issues that have been raised by drug court programs regarding drug testing. Although this report is by no means a definitive treatment of all of these issues, it is intended to provide an overview for drug court program officials—primarily lay persons—regarding the most critical topics that need to be addressed in developing and maintaining a drug testing capability."
 

Reflections of Problem-Court Justices (NYSBA 2000). "During its annual judicial seminar at the end of 1999, the Unified Court System convened a roundtable of problem-solving judges to discuss how their courts operate and how they affect the roles that judges play inside and outside the courtroom."

 

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