Collier County Adult Drug Court Enhancement

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners applied for funding to enhance Colliers post-adjudication Adult Drug Court (CADC). All Best Practice Standards will be addressed by these enhancements with emphasis on Standard 2 (Equity and Inclusion), Standard 6 (Complementary Treatment and Social Services), Standard 7 (Drug and Alcohol Testing), and Standard 10 (Monitoring and Evaluation). It is planned that 120 participants will be served. Participation is for a minimum of 15 months, and the maximum to date has been 28 months. The average length of participation is 20 months. MAT including Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, and Methadone is provided to participants when indicated. The Purposes of the proposed enhancements include promotion of racial equity, improvement in adherence to drug testing Best Practice Standards, overall improvement in ability to monitor and evaluate program compliance with all 10 Best Practice Standards, and improved capacity to assist participants in obtaining drug-free housing. Project activities include: identification of current racial disparities, design and implement community interventions and performance metrics that result in measurable annual reduction in racial disparity, addition of a full time drug screener/coach, ensuring full compliance with all drug and alcohol testing Best Practice Standards, addition of a full-time data and outcomes specialist; monitoring of adherence to best practice standards, development of remedial action plans and timetables to rectify practice standard deficiencies, comparing outcomes of CADC participants with an unbiased and equivalent comparison group, redefining the team’s case manager role to include responsibility for assisting participants in finding and maintaining drug-free housing, and utilizing enhancement grant funds to assist participants in paying for transitional and permanent housing costs. Expected outcomes included improved racial equity among participants, removal of barriers to access for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality, upgrading drug testing process to include coaching and positive reinforcement, improved monitoring and adherence with all Best Practice Standards, and improvement in housing stability among participants.