Rockdale County Juvenile Drug Court Addressing Systematic Barriers

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) envisions a nation where our children are healthy, educated, and free from violence. If they come into contact with the juvenile justice system, the contact should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them. To meet this vision, this program will focus on increasing the effectiveness of juvenile drug courts by: (1) supporting programs or strategies that recognize and engage the family as a valued partner in all components of the program; (2) supporting local training programs or teams that educate practitioners and their families to meet the needs of the adolescent client and include adolescent brain development, integrated treatment, trauma-informed care, cultural competency, and strong judicial interaction; (3) supporting the development of local programs that will engage stakeholders and build or enhance partnerships among judges, representatives from behavioral health treatment programs, juvenile justice, social services, school and vocational training programs, law enforcement, probation, prosecution, defense, and community organizations; (4) supporting existing juvenile drug courts to monitor and evaluate current practices to develop strategies to create policies and procedures that will address and provide solutions to identified local barriers and (5) developing and implementing data management systems, including disaggregated data by race and ethnicity of participants.

Rockdale County Juvenile Drug Court’s (RCJDC) purpose is to enhance public safety by separating juveniles from harmful substances and the crimes or delinquencies that accompany them through the development of an Individualized Treatment and Service Plan that combines personal accountability, support services, and extensive court supervision. RCJDC will serve 40 youth ages 13-17 who have committed a delinquent offense and meet the program criteria of having a substance abuse disorder. RCJDC will implement comprehensive support services that meet the needs of nonviolent juvenile offenders charged with a substance abuse or an alcohol charge. The project will include: family treatment services through the Teen Triple P Parenting curriculum; individual and group therapy that incorporates Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Abuse, and Moral Recognition Therapy; mentoring; and other appropriate support services (i.e., educational services, health services, employment services, community services, recreational activities, parenting programs, and housing assistance). CA/NCF