Enhancement of the Benton County Drug Treatment Court

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 Benton County Health Department (BCHD) will use the grant funds to provide enhanced services for Benton County Adult Drug Treatment Court (DTC) participants. The service enhancements will include temporary transitional housing, residential treatment services, drug testing, mental health services, incentives, transportation, and staff training. The temporary housing will be provided to ensure that selected participants have access to safe and sober housing (up to 3 months) until participants can identify permanent housing. The residential treatment option is available to participants who continually relapse. Drug testing is important for confirming that participants are not using drugs or alcohol. Studies show that the more frequently offenders are tested the more likely they are not to relapse. Mental health service evaluation and treatment will be provided for participants with co-occurring disorders. Participants will also receive incentives as a positive motivation for discontinuing the use of alcohol or drugs. Transportation (bus access) will also be provided so participants can access court ordered services. Finally, staff training will be funded for attendance at the national drug court training conference.

CA/NCF