Amherst Drug Court Enhancement 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 town of Amherst will use FY09 Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program funding to expand its existing drug treatment court by adding an intensive case management team assigned to participants with co-occurring disorders. Specifically, through the grant, the salaries of two health care professionals will be supported. The team will be responsible for coordinating a blended set of mental health and substance abuse services that includes individualized mental health counseling, psychiatric consultation, intensive case management, and outreach services. Aftercare services involving short-term residential rehabilitation and long-term residential treatment programs will also be made available. It is anticipated that up to 60 non-violent adult misdemeanants whose substance abuse or dependency has significantly contributed to their criminal case will enroll in the program during each of the two year project period. A process evaluation that will assess the effectiveness of program implementation and provide recommendations for improving key components such as the referral, screening and assessment processes, case management services, and training activities will also be conducted.

CA/NCF