According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, "Drug court diverts non-violent, substance abusing offenders from prison and jail into treatment. By increasing direct supervision of offenders, coordinating public resources, and expediting case processing, drug court can help break the cycle of criminal behavior, alcohol and drug use, and incarceration. A decade of research indicates that drug court reduces crime by lowering rearrest and conviction rates, improving substance abuse treatment outcomes, and reuniting families, and also produces measurable cost benefits."
The Prairie Center is the substance abuse treatment provider for both the Champaign County and Vermilion County Drug Court programs and the Vermilion County Family Drug Court Program. Each Drug Court program operates under a different judicial jurisdiction, and therefore the Drug Court programs are slightly different than one another. However, their characteristics remain the same:
- Collaborative involvement of the courts, prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, treatment providers, intensive case management providers, and other social service organizations.
- Eligible non-violent offenders are identified using a standardized assessment process.
- Drug court teams are made up of staff who are specially trained in substance abuse and recovery and operate in a non-adversarial atmosphere.
- Drug courts use sanctions and incentives to encourage recovery goals and hold offenders accountable for non-compliant behaviors.
Letter from Del Ryan, Drug Court Coordinator of Champaign County
Illinois Association of Drug Court Professionals
Office of National Drug Control Policy
National Association of Drug Court Professionals
