FY 2010 Drug Court Grant Program

The purpose of the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program (42 U.S.C. 3797u et seq.) is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop and implement drug treatment courts that effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services in a judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders. The FY 2010 Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program will provide grant funds to jurisdictions to implement or enhance a local drug court or to improve, enhance, expand, or financial support drug court services statewide.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts will use the grant funds to enhance the 21st Drug Court program by including another class of non-violent offenders recovering from substance dependence. The current population is offenders with multiple non-violent convictions. The proposed enhancement will expand the drug court program to include first time offenders with no prior adult criminal record with the exception of Class B and C misdemeanor traffic offenses. The drug court will demonstrate its effectiveness by measuring the following goals: reduce jail bed utilization, drug use among offenders, and criminal activity; increase public safety; improve personal, familial, and social accountability; and better use of community resources. CA/NCF