Juvenile Drug Court Implementation

The Superior Court of California in Solano County will use grant funds to implement a drug court for nonviolent, substance abusing male and female juvenile offenders. The post-adjudication juvenile drug court will serve 150 juveniles (50 per year) and 150 family members (50 per year) through a multi-phased treatment program lasting 12 months, including 4 months of aftercare, during the 3-year grant period. The principal goals and objectives of the program are to: (1) reduce substance use and abuse and mental health issues among drug court participants, (2) improve family functioning among juveniles and family members assessed as high-risk families, (3) increase attendance rates and school performance, (4) reduce criminal recidivism, (5) reduce placements of juvenile offenders into group homes or institutions, and (6) provide evaluation results demonstrating program effectiveness. Juvenile drug court services will include intensive judicial supervision, treatment, graduated sanctions and incentives, and frequent mandatory drug testing. The drug court program will coordinate collateral services such as educational development, job readiness, independent living skills training, primary and mental health care services, self help groups, mentoring programs, transportation assistance, community service, and recreational activities. The Superior Court will utilize existing drug court management information system software for operational use and evaluation purposes. An independent evaluator will conduct a process and outcome evaluation to gauge program effectiveness. The grant recipient will coordinate the juvenile drug court effort with the following agencies or organizations: the Office of the District Attorney, Office of the Public Defender, the County Probation Department, the County Health & Social Services Department, the County Office of Education and each Unified School District, a local university service fraternity, the County Workforce Investment Board, and an independent evaluator.