Oklahoma Drug Courts Fiscal Years 2002 & 2003

• NCJ Number: 204148
• Author(s): Nancy Warren B.A.; Lorrie Byrum M.A.; Kristy Spiczka B.A.; Bill Chown M.S.; Carol Furr J.D.
• Date Published: January 2004
• Length: 99 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Oklahoma Dept of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
• Corporate Author: Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Ctr
• Sale Source: Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Ctr
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of data from 19 adult drug and DUI (driving under the influence) courts that were operating in 21 Oklahoma counties in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 focused on participant characteristics at entry, compliance with the law, intermediate sanctions, outcomes, and cost.

Abstract

The drug court is a district court that offers nonviolent, felony drug offenders an opportunity to return to the community as productive members of society instead of being incarcerated in prison. Participants enter drug treatment under incentives for completing treatment and sanctions for failure to comply with court mandates. This evaluation encompassed all active participants in 19 adult drug and DUI (driving under the influence) courts as of July 1, 2001, and all participants entering through June 30, 2003 (n=1,666). This study found that the retention rate (active and graduated participants) for drug courts was 83.1 percent, which was higher than the national retention rate for drug courts (70 percent). Comparisons were made between the characteristics of drug court graduates at entry into the court's program and at graduation. Data show a 75.1-percent decrease in unemployment, a 50.4-percent increase in income, a 13.6-percent decrease in graduates without a high school diploma, a 19.1-percent increase in the number of graduates who had children living with them, and an improvement in each of the seven components of the Addiction Severity Index. The recidivism rate of drug court graduates was compared with that of successful standard probation offenders or released prison inmates. Drug court graduates were 74 percent less likely to recidivate than successful standard probation offenders; and drug court graduates were more than four times less likely to recidivate than released prison inmates. The cost analysis showed that if all 1,666 drug court participants would have otherwise served their sentence in prison, the overall 4-year cost savings of drug court versus prison was $45,552,798. If the participants had served standard probation sentences instead of participating in the drug court program, the cost would have been $4,334,599 less than the drug court program. Extensive tabular and graphic data