Drug Courts
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On this page you can find programs and practices related to Drug Courts. Select "Search Filters" to narrow down the list by rating, extent of evidence, and many other aspects of the programs or practices. Skip to Practices
CrimeSolutions’ ratings are assigned from standardized reviews of rigorous evaluations and meta-analyses. While we encourage you to learn more about this process, you don’t need to in order to benefit from it. Our clear ratings and profiles can help you determine if a program or category of program is worth pursuing.
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Effective | Implementing the program is likely to result in the intended outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Promising | Implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s) | On average, there is some evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. |
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Ineffective | Implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will not achieve the intended outcome or may result in a negative outcome. |
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Negative Effects | Implementing the program is likley to result in a negative outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will result in a negative outcome. |
Programs
| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | RCT | ||
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| Program Profile: Gender-Specific Drug Treatment Court (Midwestern State) |
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Probation, Drug courts, Problem-solving courts, Recidivism, Crime prevention | This is a drug court program that provides treatment services to women on probation to reduce their risk of reoffending. The program gives preference to women who have higher need and risk profiles, are mothers, and have substance use problems. The program is rated Promising. Women in the treatment group were statistically significantly less likely to have a new conviction, compared with similar women on probation who did not participate in the program, at the 2-year follow-up. Date Posted: |
None | ||
| Program Profile: Intensive Judicial Supervision (IJS) in Parramatta Drug Court (Australia) |
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Drug courts, Heroin, Courts, Problem-solving courts, Sanctions, Crime prevention, Substance abuse, Opioids | This intervention was designed to increase the level of judicial oversight on participants convicted of misdemeanor crimes in the Parramatta Drug Court program. The program was rated Promising. Results indicated that participants under intensive judicial supervision had lower rates of positive drug tests, compared with the comparison group. This difference was statistically significant. However, there were no statistically significant differences in sanctions, program progression or termination. Date Posted: |
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| Program Profile: Family Drug Treatment Court (Snohomish County, WA) |
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Drug courts, Family courts, Drug-Related Victimization, Family reunification, Foster care/child welfare system | This is a program for parents who have substance abuse allegations and are involved in the child welfare system. The program is rated Effective. The study found that parent participants were more likely to have their children returned, more likely to experience a permanency-planning outcome, and less likely to have their parental rights terminated. Additionally, children of program participants spent less time in the child welfare system. These findings were statistically significant. Date Posted: |
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| Program Profile: Employment Intervention for Drug-Involved Offenders (Kentucky) |
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Drug courts, Problem-solving courts, Employment initiatives | This program for Kentucky drug court participants focuses on obtaining, maintaining, and upgrading employment. The intervention concentrates on job-skills and social-skills training. The program is rated Ineffective. There was a small, statistically significant improvement for program participants on multiple drug use in the past 30 days, but no statistically significant effects for days worked at a legitimate job, income from a legitimate job, property damage, and handling stolen goods. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Ada County (Idaho) Drug Court |
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Drug courts, Probation, Corrections, Community corrections, Problem-solving courts, Recidivism, Crime prevention | This program provides court-supervised, community-based outpatient drug treatment and case management services to persons convicted of a felony drug offense. The goals are to increase accountability, decrease the likelihood of recidivism, and reduce drug dependency. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group participants showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of recidivating, compared with comparison group participants who were placed on probation. Date Posted: |
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| Program Profile: Baltimore County (Md.) Juvenile Drug Court |
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Drug courts, Juvenile courts, Alcohol-Related Offenses, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Diversion, Treatment, Problem-solving courts, Drug treatment | This program represents an alternative to traditional processing in the juvenile justice system. Rather than going through court processing, youth with substance-abuse problems are placed in treatment. The goal is to reduce their use of drugs and criminal behavior. The program is rated Promising. At the 2-year follow up, program participants had fewer overall and drug-related rearrests, compared with a matched comparison group. These differences were statistically significant. Date Posted: |
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| Program Profile: Mental Health Courts (Multisite) |
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Mental health courts, Jails, Correctional facilities, Corrections | This program consists of post-booking jail diversion mental health courts, which seek to keep justice-involved individuals with serious mental illnesses out of the court system and place them into community-based treatment without jeopardizing public safety. This program is rated Promising. Mental health courts in the four studied cities were shown to have statistically significant reductions in participants’ rates of arrests and incarceration days at the 18-month follow-up. Date Posted: |
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| Program Profile: Juvenile Drug Courts With Contingency Management and Multisystemic Therapy |
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Drug courts, Juvenile courts, Substance abuse, Underage drinking, Problem-solving courts, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Corrections, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile justice, Alcohol, Legal substances | This program incorporates contingency management protocols and multisystemic therapy into traditional juvenile drug court services to provide juveniles and families with additional engagement opportunities and support to reduce recidivism and substance abuse. The program is rated Promising. The program statistically significantly reduced alcohol and poly drug use, positive drug urine screens, status offenses, and property offenses. The program had mixed effects on marijuana use and offenses. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
| Program Profile: Utah Juvenile Drug Courts |
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Alcohol-Related Offenses, Drug courts, Juvenile courts, Drug possession, Alcohol, Treatment, Problem-solving courts, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Juvenile delinquency, Juvenile justice, Juvenile (under 18), Legal substances, Drug treatment | This is a juvenile drug court designed to reduce alcohol and other drug and delinquency offenses through an accountability framework. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group participants were statistically significantly less likely to recidivate in delinquency/criminal offenses, compared with the comparison group participants. However, there was no statistically significant effect on alcohol and other drug recidivism. Date Posted: |
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| Program Profile: Kansas Senate Bill 123 (Alternative Sentencing Policy for Non-Violent Drug Possession Offenders) |
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Drug testing, Probation, Mandatory sentencing, Drug possession, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Substance abuse | The Kansas State Senate Bill established a program that provided mandatory community-based drug treatment for nonviolent persons convicted of a preliminary offense for drug possession. The program is rated Ineffective. There were no statistically significant differences at the 18-month follow-up for reconviction or revocation between defendants who received mandatory drug treatment and the unmatched comparison group of defendants who were sentenced to standard community corrections. Date Posted: |
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Practices
Showing 1 to 3 of 3 entries
| Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | ||||
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| Practice Profile: Rehabilitation Programs for Adults Convicted of a Crime |
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Parole, Probation, Mental health, Drug courts, Mental health courts, Jails, Corrections, Community corrections, Inmate assistance programs, Prisons, Reentry, Drug abuse prevention and education, Drugs, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Problem-solving courts, Prosecution, Law enforcement, Drug treatment | This practice includes programs that are designed to reduce recidivism among adults by improving their behaviors, skills, mental health, social functioning, and access to education and employment. They may become participants in rehabilitation programs during multiple points in their involvement with the criminal justice system. This practice is rated Promising for reducing recidivism among adults who have been convicted of an offense. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Adult Mental Health Courts |
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Mental health courts, Problem-solving courts, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Diversion, Drugs, Drug treatment | Specialized, treatment-oriented, problem-solving courts that divert mentally ill persons away from the criminal justice system and into court-mandated, community-based treatment programs in order to reduce recidivism and decrease the amount of contact that mentally ill individuals have with the criminal justice system. The practice is rated Promising for reducing recidivism but rated Ineffective on measures of clinical outcomes. Date Posted: |
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| Practice Profile: Juvenile Diversion Programs |
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Drug courts, Juvenile courts, Diversion, Treatment, Victims of crime, Recidivism, Juvenile delinquency, Crime prevention, Problem-solving courts | An intervention strategy that redirects youths away from formal processing in the juvenile justice system, while still holding them accountable for their actions. The practice is rated Promising for reducing recidivism rates of juveniles who participated in diversion programming compared with juveniles who were formally processed in the justice system. Date Posted: |
Showing 1 to 3 of 3 entries