Drug Court Multi-County Expansion Project

The 23rd Judicial Circuit/81st District Court are courts of general/limited jurisdiction covering a four-county frontier rural jurisdiction in northeast Michigan (Alcona, Iosco, Oscoda, and Arenac Counties) with an approximate combined population of 45,000 people. The 23rd Judicial Circuit/81st District Court operates a post-adjudication Adult Hybrid Drug/Sobriety Treatment Court. The 23rd Circuit/81st District Drug/Sobriety Treatment Court (DSTC) has been operating since June 2005 and has accepted over 234 participants and can accommodate 40 participants. If awarded this grant, the DSTC will be able to increase program capacity to 50 participants and will also increase intensity of services for participants with opioid and stimulant use disorders. The DSTC is a minimum 12 months long with 24 months as the maximum. The average participant graduates within 18–20 months. The DSTC anticipates that this grant award will directly impact 90 new participants and those engaged in the DSTC at the time this grant may be awarded. The DSTC targets adult, nonviolent felony criminal offenders with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring mental health disorders. All persons referred to the DSTC must have a clinical assessment performed that diagnoses substance use and mental health disorders according to the DSM-5 and that determines level of care according to the ASAM criteria. All referred persons must have a moderate or severe substance use diagnosis to be admitted. Finally, all referred persons are screened for criminogenic risk using the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) and Correctional Offender Management and Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) and must score as medium to high risk and need. The DSTC operates with fidelity to the NADCPs Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards. The following standards are addressed in this grant: Standard 1 (Target Population), (Standard 5 (Substance Use Disorder Treatment), (Standard 6 (Complementary Treatment and Social Services), Standard 7 (Drug and Alcohol Testing), Standard 8 (Multidisciplinary Team), Standard 9 (Census and Caseload), and Standard 10 (Monitoring and Evaluation).