Prairie Band Potawatomi Healing to Wellness Court

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 Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation will use the Fiscal Year 2008 Single Jurisdicition Drug Court Implementation grant to implement the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Healing to Wellness Court. The growing problem of substance abuse creates a need for the planning and proposed implementation of a Healing to Wellness Court that will provide an adult treatment program to comprehensively address substance abuse treatment needs of the mind, body, and spirit. This program will provide a four phase healing to wellness program for non-violent substance abuse offenders and incorporates a point system for offenders to advance between stages. The proposed treatment phases include: Phase I ' Wapttigwe (white thunder), the stabilization phase, where treatment begins by engaging the participant in the process of detoxification and clinical treatment; Phase II ' Sewttigwe (yellow thunder), a stabilization phase, where court contact begins to lessen and the focus of treatment is on personal responsibility; Phase III ' Skepettigwe (green thunder), the maintenance phase, where court participants practice what is being learned in treatment; and Phase IV - Kitettigwe (black thunder), the continued care phase, where the treatment plan focuses on learning signs of relapse and the participant establishes other areas of growth necessary to continue recovery. The program will also protect the public's safety by ensuring that each candidate is appropriate for the program and complies with all Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Healing to Wellness Court requirements, while ensuring the participant's due process rights. Drug Court funding will provide the opportunity to showcase the benefits to Tribal Council and Tribal members.

CA/NCF