
What are treatment rights?
Treatment courts are the single most successful intervention in our nation’s history for leading people living with substance use and mental health disorders out of the justice system and into lives of recovery and stability. Instead of viewing addiction as a moral failing, they view it as a disease. Instead of punishment, they offer treatment.
What is a competent court?
What is a Treatment Court1? A specialized court calendar or docket to support individuals in the judicial system who are substance use dependent and/or suffering from mental illness Treatment courts use evidence-based practices and qualified and trained staff to tailor appropriate services for participants 2 1 Judicial Council Policy 511
What is Veterans Treatment Court?
Treatment Court is a unique program to keep individuals out of jail and on the road to a healthy, law-abiding lifestyle. Each participant in Treatment Court is assessed for a wide variety of supportive services, primarily drug and alcohol and/or mental health treatment.
What is a recovery court?
Treatment courts are the single most successful intervention in our nation's history for leading people living with substance use and mental health disorders out of the justice system and into lives of recovery and stability. They improve education, employment, housing, and financial stability; and promote family reunification.

What is Treatment Court?
Treatment Court is a unique program to keep individuals out of jail and on the road to a healthy, law-abiding lifestyle. Each participant in Treatment Court is assessed for a wide variety of supportive services, primarily drug and alcohol and/or mental health treatment.
What can Treatment Court do for you?
Treatment Court can help you avoid going to jail or, if you are incarcerated, get you out of jail and into treatment. Treatment Court will provide you with the chance to recover from any substance abuse issues, stabilize any mental health issues, and otherwise provide you with all of the help you will ever need to stay out of future trouble.
How does Treatment Court work?
An individual treatment plan is put together for you based on your history, your present needs and any future changes to those needs. You will be on community supervision and not in jail. You will be free to live in the community except if inpatient treatment or transitional housing is necessary.
Is Treatment Court an easy way out of criminal charges?
No! Treatment Court is not easy; it requires your willingness to work hard to make needed changes in your life. Please keep in mind that recovery from addictions and/or criminal thinking takes time. There is no quick fix or cure for behaviors that are often years in the making.
What are the benefits of completing Treatment Court?
Most importantly, your graduation from Treatment Court means you have established a stable and fulfilling lifestyle. Beyond feeling good about yourself and proud of your accomplishments, the rewards can be priceless. For example, you can reconnect with a family member, begin a new career and otherwise be a trusted member of the community.
How do I get into Treatment Court?
You must apply for Treatment Court with the District Attorney’s Office. Download the application form or visit the Court Administrator’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office or the Public Defender’s Office.
How do I get into Veterans Treatment Court?
You must apply for Veterans Treatment Court with the District Attorney’s Office. Download the application form or visit the Court Administrator’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office or the Public Defender’s Office.
What is treatment court?
Treatment Court is a common term for drug courts. Treatment Courts represent a shift in the way courts are handling certain offenders and working with key stakeholders in the justice system. In this approach, the court works closely with prosecutors, public defenders, probation officers, social workers, and other justice system partners ...
What is mental health court?
Modeled after drug courts and developed in response to the over-representation of people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system, mental health courts divert select defendants with mental illnesses into judicially supervised, community-based treatment. Currently, all mental health courts are voluntary.
What is a juvenile drug court?
A juvenile drug court is a docket within a juvenile court to which selected delinquency cases, and in some instances status offenders, are referred for handling by a designated judge. The youth referred to this docket are identified as having problems with alcohol and/or other drugs.
What is a family treatment court?
A family treatment court (FTC), considered a problem-solving court by leading judicial and legal organizations, 1 is a family court docket for cases of child maltreatment in which parental substance use is a contributing factor. FTCs offer a promising model for all courts, providing insight into better ways of engaging families both before ...
What is child protective services?
Child protective services, treatment professionals, court personnel, and community partners coordinate services with the goals of ensuring that children have safe, nurturing, and permanent homes; parents achieve stable recovery; and each family member receives the services and supports needed.
Why is family centered care important?
Family-centered care ensures that each family member has an opportunity to have his or her safety, health, and treatment needs identified and considered in the family’s treatment plan. Providing those services in a culturally relevant way increases the likelihood of participants remaining in treatment and achieving positive outcomes.
How effective are FTCs?
The effectiveness of FTCs has been assessed by considering outcomes in five areas (referred to as the “5 Rs”): recovery; remain at home; reunification; repeat maltreatment, and re-entry to foster care. Recovery outcomes for parents are well established. Compared with parents receiving conventional child welfare and dependency court interventions, parents participating in FTCs appear to enter treatment more quickly, stay in treatment longer, and complete treatment at higher rates. 3 The evidence also is strong for reunification. A 2019 meta-analysis of 16 evaluations examining FTC outcomes found that families participating in an FTC were approximately twice as likely to reunify as families receiving conventional services. The increase in family reunification rates did not appear to have any effect on the risk of repeat maltreatment or re-entry. Other studies have found that children of parents participating in FTCs spend less time in out-of-home care and achieve permanency more quickly. 4 The remain at home outcome is more difficult to assess. Although some FTCs are able to serve families before children are removed or a petition is filed, the number of preventive or early intervention FTCs is still relatively small. Limited studies suggest that children of FTC participants experience fewer removals and fewer placement changes while in foster care.
What is the power of FTC?
The power of an FTC lies in its collaborative, family-centered approach. No single agency has the skill or capacity to meet all family members’ needs, so professionals from multiple service systems work together with children, parents, and other family members to leverage community resources that may help the family achieve its treatment and reunification goals, as well as — if needed — to obtain employment, reliable transportation, and safe and affordable housing. FTCs operate at the intersection of multiple service providers: the court; the child protection agency; substance use disorder and mental health treatment systems; and related health, educational, and social service systems. Collaborative casework for individual families is supported by strong cross-systems relationships, communication protocols, and a formal governance structure.
What is operational team?
Operational team, consisting of staff who provide direct services to children, parents, and families. The operational team meets weekly or biweekly to review specific cases and participates in additional meetings to discuss administrative issues related to policy, procedures, and barriers to family participation.
What is an oversight body?
Oversight body, which may be a function of an existing community group or a group formed specifically for this purpose. The oversight body includes executive-level staff of partner organizations, community leadership, and elected officials.
How long does it take to recover from a substance use disorder?
Time in treatment – outcomes are best when individuals with a moderate to severe substance use disorder (SUD) remain engaged in treatment for a minimum of 90 days and remain engaged in community recovery supports for a year or longer (SUD is a chronic disease requiring on-going maintenance).
What is the mission of the FTC?
The FTC’s mission is to ensure the safety and well-being of children and to offer caregivers a viable option to reunify in a timely manner. FTCs provide children and caregivers with the skills and services necessary to live productively and establish a safe environment for their families.
What is the FTC in Oklahoma?
FTCs serve families struggling with substance use issues whose children have been placed in the custody of Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and where the State of Oklahoma has filed a deprived action against the parents .
What is universal screening?
Universal screening – States that mandate a universal screener, such as the UNCOPE, document alcohol and other drug use (AOD) as a reason for removal at much higher rates than states that do not (~60% vs 10%).
What is a drug court?
Drug courts are an innovative and effective solution to addressing substance use within the criminal court system. As the name implies, drug courts are specifically for persons with substance use disorders.
How effective are drug courts?
Drug courts are operating with incredible success across the country. They are effective at getting people into treatment — a key step in long-term sobriety. People who complete drug court programs are significantly less likely to be arrested again, compared to those who are sentenced with traditional punishments.
How do drug court programs work?
How Do Drug Courts Work? Drug court programs are for people charged with or convicted of criminal offenses, are likely to re-offend, and who are experiencing serious substance use disorders. There is no universal model for drug court programs but there are two common ways in which people enter drug court.
When did drug courts start?
Since their inception in 1989 , drug courts programs have expanded from serving just adults, to include juvenile drug treatment courts, DUI/DWI courts, family treatment courts, mental health courts, veterans treatment courts, tribal healing to wellness courts, and others.
What is the punishment for drug charges?
In traditional criminal court cases, defendants found guilty of drug charges are punished with long periods of incarceration. Drug court programs recognize that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain that affects behavior and impulse control.
