Adult Drug Court Mentor Court Application

Transcription

1 Adult Drug Court Mentor Court Application This project is supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 2012-DC-BX-K004 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the SMART Office and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view and opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice.

2 NDCI MENTOR ADULT DRUG COURTS The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and its professional services branch, the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI), are pleased to announce it is currently accepting applications for the NDCI Adult Drug Court Mentor Court Program. Developed in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice, selected Adult Drug Courts will serve as mentor courts for three years (calendar years 2016, 2017 and 2018) and will play a significant role in NDCI s adult drug court training, technical assistance and research efforts. What is an Adult Drug Court? A Drug Court is a special docket or calendar within the court system that is designed to treat addicted individuals and give them the tools they need to change their lives. The Drug Court judge serves as the leader of an inter-disciplinary team of professionals, which often includes a court coordinator, prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, treatment providers, case managers, probation officers and representatives from law enforcement. Eligible participants for the program are drug and/or alcohol dependent and commonly charged with drug-related offenses such as possession of a controlled substance or other offenses which are determined to have been caused or influenced by their addiction such as theft, burglary or forgery (NDCI, 2011). What is a NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Court? Since its inception, NADCP/ NDCI has highlighted Drug Court programs which exhibit exemplary practice to serve as educational and training sites for the Drug Court and broader justice field and public. Continuing in this tradition, NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Courts will serve as model court programs for individuals and court teams interested in starting an Adult Drug Court. They will host independent visitors and NDCI training programs. In addition, NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Courts will serve as national evaluation platforms for outcome studies on the model as well as for the development, identification, and testing of Adult Drug Court best practices. Benefits of Being a Mentor Adult Drug Court NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Courts will be recognized nationally as programs demonstrating exemplary Drug Court practices. They will also be provided with training and materials to assist in hosting visits to their court. Each NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Court will receive two annual registration waivers for Drug Court personnel to attend the Annual NADCP Drug Court Training Conference. Finally, each Mentor Adult Drug Court will receive a $1,000 stipend each year to cover costs associated with hosting visitors to their court. 2

3 Responsibilities of Mentor Adult Drug Courts Selected Adult Drug Courts will commit to being a Mentor Court for a period of three years (calendar years 2016, 2017 and 2018). In order to serve in their capacity as a NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Court training site, programs will be required to maintain their program operations at an exemplary level. NDCI will assist in this process through technical assistance, training, and periodic site visits to the program. In addition, it is likely that the mentor court programs will take part in evaluation projects seeking to measure national outcomes and to identify and develop improved program practices that can then be disseminated to the field. The responsibilities of mentor courts include but are not limited to: Hosting scheduled site visits to include providing access and time with Drug Court team members Providing ongoing mentoring relationships with visitors Hosting formal BJA sponsored NDCI training programs Helping train new courts Serving as model for new and existing courts Providing technical assistance Disseminating relevant publications and other resources Providing program descriptions and other local resource materials Providing other services to visitors based on identified needs Participate in BJA and/or NDCI research projects How will Mentor Adult Drug Courts be selected? The NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Court selection process is two-tiered. First, interested Adult Drug Court programs must submit an electronic application at Applications will be rated based upon objective criteria by a group of peer reviewers selected by NDCI and approved by BJA. Secondly, the highest ranked programs in five identified geographical areas will then be subject to a detailed review of program operations that includes a site visit from NDCI staff. It is NDCI s intention that four of the ten mentor courts selected be rural courts. Applicant programs will be evaluated in a variety of areas, including: Length of court operation: The Adult Drug Court must be in operation a minimum of two years in order to be eligible Current program operations must be consistent with Drug Court research findings Utilization of evidence based treatment practices Geographical location Suitability as a NDCI training site The NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Courts Network will be divided into five geographical areas. The five geographical areas are as follows: West: Includes Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. 3

4 Central: Includes Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. North: Includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. East: Includes Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. South: Includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia. * All Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts are welcome to apply under this solicitation. I. Applicant Information Application Process The following information must be included on your online application. A. Applicant Contact Information 1. Name and Job Title 2. Agency 3. Address 4. Phone 5. Fax Name of City and County where court is located 8. Identify if your court serves a rural jurisdiction (a population of fewer than 50,000 residents) II. Program Application The program application submission must be submitted online via III. Submission Deadline Applications for the NDCI Mentor Adult Drug Courts Program are due by 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, November 27, This deadline is firm and will not be extended. Please submit your completed application and supporting documents online via Faxed, ed or mailed applications will not be accepted. If you have questions pertaining to the application process, please contact Sonya L. Harper, Project Director, at (571) or sharper@nadcp.org. 4

5 IV. Initial Mentor Adult Drug Court Application The program application submission should include responses to the following inquiries: 1) Does your Drug Court include any separate designated tracks such as mental health, co-occurring, DWI, Veterans, family dependency, etc.? Please describe. 2) How long has the drug court been in operation? (Please include program start date) 3) Identify the size of the population served by your judicial district. 4) What is the program capacity? How many participants are currently in the program? 5) What is the average length of program participation for graduates? How many participants have graduated the program since its inception? 6) Does the program have a practice or policy in place to examine whether unfair disparities exist within the program for racial or ethnic minority participants? If so, please describe the policy and explain the corrective measures to be taken to eliminate any identified disparities. 7) What agencies are represented on your Drug Court team? What are their roles and responsibilities? 8) How long has each team member been with the program? Which team members have prior Drug Court experience? Please explain. 9) Describe the program s policy on determining how incentives and sanctions are imposed. 10) Describe what role community volunteer organizations play in your Adult Drug Court. Please include a description of all community services linked to the program. 11) When does the program hold pre-court staffing (day, time)? How much time is scheduled for staffing? 12) Which members of the Adult Drug Court team participate in staffing? 13) When does the program hold Adult Drug Court status hearings? 14) When was your program s policy and procedures manual last updated? 15) When was your program s client handbook last updated? 5

6 16) Please describe the target population, legal and clinical screening protocol and eligibility/disqualification criteria for the program (i.e. misdemeanor, felon, drugdependent, violent offenders, etc.). 17) Identify and describe the risk/needs assessment tool utilized by the program. 18) Please describe in detail the program s eligibility screening process, clinical assessment procedure, treatment protocol and ancillary/supportive services. 19) Please identify and describe the evidence based treatment practice(s) being utilized by your program. In addition, please justify as to why the evidence based practice(s) was selected for use amongst your program s population of focus. 20) Please describe the program s process for individualized treatment planning and case management. 21) Please identify and describe the credentials of the substance abuse and/or mental health professionals who deliver treatment services to your program participants. 22) Does your program offer or permit medication assisted treatment (MAT) options? If so, please provide a detailed description of the program s MAT policy and indicate the types of medications available to program participants. 23) Does the program currently have a process in place to assist participants in getting connected with healthcare coverages available through Affordable Care Act federal or state insurance exchanges or Medicaid? If so, please provide a detailed description of the process. 24) Please describe in detail the program s supervision protocol and how it is linked to each program phase (i.e., home/office visit requirements, etc.). 25) Please describe in detail the program s drug testing protocol (type, party responsible for collection, type of confirmation, etc.) and how it is linked to each program phase. 26) Please describe the phase structure of the program, including client requirements for each phase (e.g., length of phase, frequency of court appearances, and other client requirements). 27) Please identify your program s method of data collection to include the data elements collected on a regular basis and a description of your management information system. 28) Please describe how your program is funded (i.e. federal, state, local) to include the types and amounts of funding received. If you are currently receiving a federal grant, please identify your funder and provide your grant number. 29) Please describe your program s current sustainability plan. 6

7 30) Is the program close to a major airport? What is the name of the airport and the estimated travel time from the airport to your program? 31) How many visitors can the program accommodate at pre-court staffing? 32) How many visitors can the program accommodate at Adult Drug Court status hearings? V. Attachments 1) Please submit a copy of the program Policies and Procedures Manual. 2) Please submit a copy of the program Client Handbook. 3) If the program has participated in an evaluation, please submit a copy and indicate the type of evaluation (i.e. process, outcome, cost benefit analysis, etc). 4) Please submit a list of hotels with training facilities that are within walking distance to the program. If no hotels are within walking distance, provide a list of those that are within the nearest vicinity to the program. 7