NCJ Number
235776
Date Published
July 2011
Length
68 pages
Annotation
This report from the National Drug Court Institute presents the results of a survey on drug courts and other problem-solving court programs in the United States.
Abstract
This report presents the results of two surveys, one in July 2008 and one in July 2009, of statewide drug court coordinators in every U.S. State or territory. Key findings from the 2009 survey include: as of December 31, 2009, there were 2,459 drug courts in the United States; 56 percent of U.S. States and territories reported an increase in the number of drug courts, with Arizona and Alabama having the largest increases; and 58 percent of the adult drug courts followed a post-plea model. Key findings from the 2008 survey include: 56 percent of U.S. counties did not have an adult drug court, 84 percent did not have a juvenile drug court, and 87 percent did not have a family dependency treatment court; 96 percent of States and territories reported that drug court capacity could be expanded; and of the 116,300 drug court participants in 2008, almost 62 percent were White and 21 percent were Black. This report also includes a description of what a drug court is, and a review of the scientific literature that documents the effectiveness of drug courts, a discussion of the key components of successful drug courts and other problem-solving court programs, and a detailed examination of the survey results. Tables, figures, and references