Wilkes, NC Community Treatment Court

Project Lazarus is a nonprofit recovery community organization requesting funding to plan and implement the Wilkes County, North Carolina Community Treatment Court. Project Lazarus is also seeking Priority Consideration 2 to implement the court into a rural community. The court will provide diversion from incarceration to treatment and recovery services. Project Lazarus, in partnership with Wilkes County Courthouse, will plan and establish a fair, just, and equitable, primarily pre-adjudication, Community Treatment Court.

Primary activities will include lowering recidivism rates and improving access to diversion. Peer support services will provide justice guidance and navigation, motivational interviewing, and case management. Additionally, Project Lazarus will expand transportation assistance and life skills education through recovery services. The Community Treatment Court is estimated to serve 150 individuals per year, with engagement expected to last from seven months minimum to one year, two years maximum. The average length of participation is anticipated to be one year. As a result of implementation, barriers to opportunity for those struggling with substance use disorder who are justice involved (and are non-violent) will be mitigated through providing supportive and necessary services to empower and encourage successful reentry into the community. The treatment court will be utilizing the principals of community justice to plan the court, wherein the proposal narrative it is discussed in the sections: enhanced information, community engagement, collaboration, individualized justice, accountability, and outcomes.

Deliverables will primarily be in the form of data abstraction and summarization of the outcome measures that will be collected through the electronic health record SMART. Deliverables will also include a Community Mapping Resource to be provided to participants, and an Implementation Action Plan. At the end of the project period, a comprehensive final report of outcome measures and overall success of the project will be submitted to Bureau of Justice Assistance grant funders. The beneficiaries (boarder community and participants) will experience reduced recidivism rates, less community crime, and improved quality of life.