Vallejo Adult Drug Court Enhancement

The Superior Court of California, County of Solano seeks $499,587 of BJA Enhancement (Category 3) funding to enhance its existing Vallejo Adult Drug Court (VADC), established in 2013 in suburban Solano County. The VADC is a post-adjudication court operated at the Solano Justice Center, 321 Tuolumne Street, Vallejo, California, Judge Daniel J. Healy presiding.

Solano Superior Court and its partners will provide trauma-informed services to 40 unduplicated participants per year, with 160 participants served over the four-year life of the grant. The program is a minimum 39 weeks and a maximum 36 months in length. The average program length is approximately 18 months.

The target populations are Solano County’s non-violent, probation-eligible adult residents who have a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and whose convictions or probation violations stem from their SUD. Candidates who are screened as high risk and high needs by Solano County Probation using the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) assessment instrument, will receive priority consideration as will people of color, specifically Black residents.

This enhancement will address (1) the low number of referrals from the universe of potentially eligible participants and the disproportionate number of White versus Black participants; (2) the need for a Case Manager to provide intensive services; (3) the need to improve team coordination, communication, and training to heighten professional standards and ease staff transitions; and (4) monitor, evaluate and improve the program using a management information system. 

The Court will address and reduce the target population’s opioid, stimulant, and other SUDs by employing the evidence-based practices of Strengths-Base Case Management services, Motivational Interviewing, and Medication-Assisted Treatment. The Court will utilize an electronic case management system to track client treatment and progress.

VADC adheres to NADCP 10 Key Components of Drug Court and NADCP Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards. The Court takes special interest in Standards 1 Target Population (p. 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14), 2 Equity and Inclusion (p. 1, 2, 5, 8, 11) 5 Substance Use Disorder Treatment (p. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14), 8 Multidisciplinary Team (p. 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15-18), 9 Census and Caseload (p. 5, 6, 11), and 10 Monitoring and Evaluation (p. 1, 8, 11, 14, 18, 19).

The Court is not leveraging other federal funding sources to support VADC. The Court has received OJP Drug Court grants: Award Numbers 2013-DC-BX-0069, 2016-VV-BX-0010, 2017-DC-BX-0003, and 2019-VC-BX-0063.