NCJ Number
182413
Date Published
1999
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Established in 1995 for juveniles from the City of Wilmington, the Family Court Juvenile Drug Court Program in Delaware has grown into the only statewide juvenile drug court program in the Nation.
Abstract
The program targets juveniles with misdemeanor drug possession offenses. Referrals to the program come from criminal case processing units of family courts. During the program, juveniles must maintain sobriety, attend all scheduled treatment sessions, and refrain from criminal activity. However, non-compliance is not grounds for automatic termination from the program. Relapse, which is common in drug treatment progress, is sometimes handled by increasing treatment intensity. All juveniles who enter the program go through intake and assessment procedures, and courts schedule status hearings with juveniles about once a month if progress is satisfactory or every 2 weeks if the juvenile is in danger of being terminated from the program. The mean age of juveniles served by the juvenile drug court since 1995 is 15.9 years, with a range of 11 to 19 years. Of 401 juveniles admitted into treatment by the end of the first quarter of 1999, 218 completed treatment, 118 failed to complete treatment, and 65 were continuing in the program at the end of June 1999. An evaluation of the program indicates that it has been successful in reducing the recidivism rate of Delaware's juvenile drug offenders by statistically significant levels, in reducing arrest rates of juvenile drug court participants, in reducing new offense rates of juvenile drug court graduates, in reducing arrest rates for all offense categories, and in reducing arrest rates for felony-level drug offenses. The program evaluation raises important questions and future challenges in maximizing benefits of the program for minority participants. 15 tables and 4 figures