Rockingham County Drug Court Implementation Project

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 New Hampshire Department of Justice will use the grant funds to implement the Rockingham County Adult Drug Court (RCADC) in an effort to assist non-violent offenders with successful rehabilitation from the use of drugs and/or alcohol. The specific goals of the program are to ensure timely entry of offenders into the program, provide comprehensive treatment to meet the needs of the target population, reduce drug abuse in the community, enhance public safety, and reduce recidivism. These goals will be implemented through the partnership represented by the RCADC and the Seacoast Mental Health Center (SMHC). The drug court team represents the key stakeholders in the criminal justice and treatment communities. SMHC is the community mental health provider for the region and will also provide treatment services for the drug court clients. The grant recipient will develop a formal evaluation plan upon award. The goal for the evaluation will center on whether or not the program is meeting the stated goals and objectives. This process evaluation will examine all aspects of the program and analyze what components are working and what can be improved.

CA/NCF