Georgia's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

The State of Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) is
requesting $2,500,000 over 48 months to improve, enhance, and expand adult drug courts by: (1)
developing and deploying a participant screening tool for all arrestees within local jails, (2)
establishing a statewide language access protocol to ensure equitable access to service and
materials for non-English and limited-English speaking participants, (3) providing access to
emergency and transitional housing for participants in need to address environmental and other
risk factors limiting program participation, and (4) enhancing data collection efforts statewide
and providing racial and ethnic diversity training for participating courts. As described by the
solicitation, the adult drug courts to be served by this funding will include Driving While
Intoxicated (DWI)/Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Courts, Adult Felony Drug Courts, Cooccurring Courts where participants possess both a substance abuse and mental illness diagnosis,
and Veteran Treatment Courts. CJCC proposes to strategically enhance the treatment options for
participants though the implementation of mechanisms that may be responsible for a lack of
ethnic and racial diversity within the accountability court system, as well as expansion of
training opportunities for court staff to address those limitations caused by unknown implicit
bias. This project will customize options for court staff to enhance current offerings to better
serve the needs of all participants who suffer from a substance use disorder, while also ensuring
standardized processes that are in line with both state and federal standards to all the adult drug
courts who receive state funding. Due to this initiative being a statewide expansion and
implementation, the targeted population is spread across Georgia’s various urbanicities and
includes urban, rural, and suburban localities. This project will respond to NADCP Standards 1,
2, 4–6, 8, and 10 and Key Components 2–4 and 8–10.