BJA Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program

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 Van Buren County Circuit Court will use the FY 2008 Single Jurisdiction Drug Court Implementation Grant to implement the Van Buren County Drug Treatment Court

Van Buren County, Michigan, is situated between Chicago and Detroit along I-94, forming the western anchor of Michigan. Van Buren County suffers from drug abuse and offenses related to alcohol, cocaine (powder and crack), heroin, marijuana and prescription drugs. The County recognized that early engagement into a system dedicated to intense and continuous judicially supervised treatment, frequent and random drug testing, and appropriate use of sanctions has the greatest likelihood of reducing recidivism of the participants and increasing the likelihood of their successful program completion and eventual engagement in the community. Van Buren County will use existing drug court 'best practices', expand substance abuse services for non-violent drug offenders participating in the program, hold each offender accountable for non-compliance and provide aftercare services to assist in their transition into society as a productive member.

CA/NCF