Drug Court Enhancement Grant

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 county of Spartanburg will use the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Single Jurisdiction Drug Court Enhancement grant to expand its efforts into Cherokee County. The target population for this program is non-violent offenders residing in Spartanburg County and the program is designed to last a minimum of 14 months, and consists of an initial orientation, followed by 4 phases. Program participants appear in court between once a week and once a month depending on their status in treatment. Program fees are collected from participants at each court appearance. The Drug Court program performs random, observed drug and alcohol tests on a frequent basis and a community supervision officer performs curfew checks, residential visits, and offender transports on a weekly basis. The program is an extremely cost effective alternative to the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. The program will use grant funds to implement a satellite program in Cherokee County. The goals of the program are to: 1) Establish an alternative to incarceration for non-violent, adult offenders residing in Cherokee County; 2) Improve collaboration between the Public Defender's Office and the Solicitor's Office in regards to Cherokee County cases; 3) Provide clinical staff and training for the local Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission in Cherokee County; 4) Monitor the sobriety of program participants through frequent alcohol and drug testing; and 5) Establish bi-weekly Drug Court sessions and monitor the implementation of the Court. The plan for expansion of the Drug Court program into Cherokee County will enhance the opportunities Cherokee residents have for experiencing successful rehabilitation, and will help to educate the community through the collaborative efforts of all Cherokee agencies involved.

CA/NCF