Adult Drug 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.

Liberty County will use the Drug Court Implementation grant to start the Liberty County Drug Court program, which will target all adult offenders with a drug or substance abuse problem. The state of Georgia has shown through their need assessment that Liberty County is at high risk for drug/alcohol arrests and drug/alcohol-related vehicle crashes. Approximately 35 percent of inmates at the Liberty County jail are booked on drug offenses, and with a 32.6 percent increase in the number of inmates booked into the jail from 2005 to 2007, the county expressed that they have been unable to respond adequately to the needs of their inmates with chemical dependencies.

The county will use their Drug Court grant to pay for office supplies, telphone and utilities, rent on office space, drug testing kits, contracts for confirming the results of drug tests, and for the Sheriff's Office to monitor clients. The grant will also pay for medical treatment, life skills classes, and counseling for the drug court participants. Drug Court staff will also use this grant for travel to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the Georgia Judicial Council Annual Drug Court Conference. The Liberty County Drug Court will implement an information management system that will allow for effective case management and a process evaluation. The Drug Court will undergo a formal evaluation of their processes in order to determine how they can improve the court's operation. The evaluator will attend court, visit the treatment provider, interview officials and participants to conduct the assessment, and ensure that best practices are being used. A final report will be produced.

CA/NCF