NCJ Number
242287
Date Published
April 2013
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This fact sheet presents six steps to help drug court practitioners better serve persons with co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
Abstract
Each step in this document addresses one of these keys: 1) know who your participants are and what they need; 2) customize your court's structure, processes, and treatment to modify behavior and achieve successful outcomes; 3) successful treatment of people with these co-occurring disorders requires expanding treatment options in order to fully address the serious mental illness and its interactions with drug or alcohol use; 4) target case management and community supervision to facilitate multiple team members sharing responsibilities and coordinating activities with and on behalf of participants; 5) collaboration is fundamental to team efforts to reduce criminal recidivism and foster individual recovery and prosocial integration into the community; and 6) education of the treatment court team is a cornerstone in the foundation for success. Each adult drug court can achieve positive outcomes for persons with co-occurring disorders. With some creativity and thoughtful planning, most persons with co-occurring disorders can successfully participate in drug courts. To effectively work with persons with mental illnesses co-occurring with substance use disorders, your court will need to understand and implement the six keys to success. Tables, figure, and references