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Drug and DWI Treatment Courts

What are Drug Treatment Courts?

MCL 600.1060(c) defines drug treatment courts as ". . . a court supervised treatment program for individuals who abuse or are dependent upon any controlled substance or alcohol." These courts are specially designed to reduce recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent substance-abusing offenders and to increase the offenders' likelihood of successful habilitation through early, continuous, and intense judicially- supervised treatment, mandatory periodic drug testing, and use of appropriate sanctions.

Drug treatment courts evolved to address the revolving-door cycle in which drug and alcohol offenders moved in and out of the justice system. Drug treatment courts treat addiction as a complex disease and provide a comprehensive, sustained continuum of therapeutic interventions, treatment, and other services to increase a participant's periods of abstinence and reduce the rate of relapse, re-arrest, and incarceration.

Types of drug courts include: drug treatment court, DWI court, juvenile drug court, and family dependency treatment court.

Michigan Drug Treatment Courts in Operation

Michigan has been a pioneer in the drug treatment court movement. In June 1992, one of the first Michigan drug courts, and the first women’s drug court in the nation, was established in Kalamazoo. Since then, the number of drug treatment programs has grown substantially, increasing by 216 percent in the past six years. There are currently 84 drug treatment courts in Michigan, consisting of 32 adult drug courts, 23 DWI courts, 15 juvenile drug courts, 11 family dependency courts, and 3 tribal healing-to-wellness courts. Michigan’s drug treatment courts operate in 40 counties; however, the three tribal drug courts have special jurisdictions which are as follows:

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians tribal government is based on the reservation located in Peshawbestown, Michigan, but the tribe has trust property and tribally owned lands within the Tribe's six-county service area of Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Manistee counties.

Drug Treatment Court Programs

>>See the List of Michigan Drug Courts in PDF

>>American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - Byrne and CHRP grant clarification

Drug Treatment Court Minimum Data Standards

Under MCL 600.1078, all adult and juvenile drug treatment courts must collect and provide data to the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) on each drug court applicant and participant. MCL 600.1078(3) specifies that SCAO must develop a minimum standard data set that captures this data for the purpose of preparing an annual legislative report about drug court performance.

>>See the Minimum Standard Data - Adult Drug Courts

>>See the Data Standards 2009 Adult Drug Courts (Excel spreadsheet)

>>See the Minimum Standard Data - Juvenile Drug Courts

>>See the Data Standards 2009 Juvenile Drug Courts (Excel spreadsheet)

To download Excel files, right click on link and select "save target as...

Case Management Resources
from SCAO

>>Drug Court Case Management Information System (DCCMIS)

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians - Odawa Youth to Healing Wellness Program

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians exercises jurisdiction over its reservation lands, which are located in Emmet, Cheboygan, and Charlevoix counties.

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians – Gwaiak Miicon Drug Court

The Tribal Court exercises jurisdiction over its reservation lands, which are spread in a checkerboard fashion throughout Chippewa, Mackinac, Luce, Schoolcraft, Alger, Delta, and Marquette counties.

The Impact of Drug Treatment Courts

The effectiveness of drug treatment courts in reducing recidivism and substance abuse is well documented nationwide, and is associated with participants’ successful completion of drug court programs. Graduation rates among Michigan drug treatment courts vary depending on drug court type. In FY 2005, the average graduation rate for adult circuit programs was 43 percent, adult district courts 54 percent, DWI programs 65 percent, and juvenile programs 43 percent. Overall, the graduation rates among Michigan drug treatment courts were consistent with the national completion rates, which range between 27 percent and 66 percent.

Drug treatment courts also save taxpayer dollars. In September 2006, Northwest Professional Consortium, Inc. (NPC) conducted drug court outcome and cost evaluations in Barry and Kalamazoo Counties. The studies showed a combined savings of almost $1 million dollars in 24 months. Other drug court research articles have been published by the National Institute of Justice and Center for Court Innovations: Emerging Issues and Programs

Family dependency treatment courts are emerging within the drug court field. The mission of a family dependency treatment court is to establish an integrated, court-based collaboration that protects children from abuse and neglect precipitated by parental substance abuse. This collaborative effort focuses on timely decision making, and providing coordinated services, treatment, and safe and permanent placements.

The goals of family dependency courts are to:
  • Stop the cycle of abuse and neglect in those families that are brought to the attention of the court.
  • Provide parents with the necessary skills to survive in the community and adequately provide for their families.
  • Respond to dependency issues from a strength-based approach.
  • Provide a continuum of family-based treatment and ancillary services through the life of the program.
  • Provide families with the knowledge they need to access the services they may require post-program to function responsibly.
  • Develop cost-effective programming and interventions and reallocate resources to support them.
  • Reduce future incidents of abuse and neglect.
  • Identify appropriate and timely permanent placements for children.
  • Provide gender-specific and culturally-appropriate treatment.
  • Develop stable relationships between the courts and the communities in which they operate.
Evaluations *Court definitions taken from National Drug Court Institute publication:

Huddleston, C. West, Freeman-Wilson, Karen, Boone, Donna L. "Painting the Current Picture: A National Report Card on Drug Courts and Other Problem Solving Court Programs in the United States.” 1 May 2004.


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