Itasca County DWI 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.

Itasca County will use the FY 2009 Drug Court Program funds in collaboration with the Leech Lake Tribal Court to implement a DWI Court. The proposed court will target alcohol/substance dependent persons with gross misdemeanor and felony DWI charges, with specific efforts made to reach Native American populations. In the first year, the DWI court will operate with Itasca County's existing adult drug court as a 'hybrid' court, with 15 drug court and 15 DWI clients. In the second year, two separate courts will be formed with a target capacity of 30, with at least 10 clients representing Native Americans.

CA/NCF