Rebuilding the Administrative Office of the Courts' Court Services Division and Providing Training to Alabama's Drug Courts

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 Alabama Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) will use the grant funds to hire a Drug Court Specialist and acquire BJA-sponsored training. By employing two Drug Court Specialists, the AOC will be able to constantly update the drug court system and make it work fluidly through in-person interaction and drug court conferences. The Drug Court Specialists will primarily be field workers. The very notion of personal attention is paramount to bringing a planning or newly implemented court into working order. The Drug Court Specialist will be able to conduct the majority of, if not all, State travel in order to provide individual attention to drug court teams. Many newer drug courts have not had any formal AOC training or conference attendance. In-person training will involve: gathering together all members of a particular jurisdiction's drug court team; providing information on the essentialness of the 10 Key Components and giving examples of each one; explaining the statewide drug court minimum standards; assisting in composing the jurisdiction's own policies and procedures manual; attending the first drug court docket, outlining the positives and negatives, and providing a strategy for change; sitting in on a drug court team meeting to make sure evidence-based practices are being employed; clarifying drug court team roles and duties; developing eligibility material for potential drug court participants and explaining the screening process; creating a sustainability plan and coordinating community resources; and making sure all drug court team members meet drug court standards. CA/NCF