Rural Drug Court Training Program Initiative

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.

Escambia County will use the grant funds to enhance the Escambia County Drug Court operations by developing a rural drug court training program and hiring a Training Program Assistant. Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb will select participating counties. The Escambia County Drug Court goals are to develop a model for training rural drug court practitioners; increase knowledge of drug court operations, practices, and procedures; measure practitioners' training program satisfaction; and provide a follow-up visit and process evaluation report for each rural drug court program. The project will be led by Circuit Judge Bradley Byrne and his established drug court team.

CA/NCF