Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2008, $200,000)
The Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program is designed to assist states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments in developing and establishing drug courts for substance-abusing adult and juvenile offenders. Drug court programs funded by the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program are required by law to target nonviolent offenders. The Program supports the following activities:
adult drug court implementation, single jurisdiction drug court enhancement, statewide drug court enhancement, and planning efforts.
The San Luis Obispo (SLO) County Drug and Alcohol Services will use Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Single Jurisdiction Drug Court Enhancement grant to expand treatment services available to non-violent offenders with co-occurring mental health issues and methamphetamine addicts.
The SLO County Superior Court conducts all Drug Court/Proposition 36 (California Substance Abuse Crime Prevention Act) sessions simultaneously in one courtroom. Non-violent offenders with co-occurring mental health issues are currently excluded from participating in the Adult Drug Court Program. The SLO County Superior Court and SLO Drug and Alcohol Services are establishing judicial supervision procedures to review and monitor the progress of program participants. SLO County Drug and Alcohol Services will serve as the primary provider of addiction treatment and case management for individuals participating in the drug court program.
One enhancement will include the hiring of a Psychiatric Technician, who will do the following: 1) provide ongoing assessment of participant progress and needs; 2) coordinate referrals to services in addition to primary treatment such as mental health services; and 3) provide structure and support for individuals who typically have difficulty using services even when they are available and to ensure communication between the various health, psychiatric, treatment providers and the Court. In addition, a specific evidence-based curriculum will be implemented and customized to those individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, especially methamphetamine addiction. Training will also be conducted in order to increase the quality and quantity of treatment needs of nonviolent substance-abusing offenders with co-occurring mental health issues. The final enhancement will be the integration of data collection, database management, and outcome analysis into the existing Cal Outcomes Management System (CalOMS). This will ensure program effectiveness.
CA/NCF