The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act's Treatment Court Funding
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act included $750 million in funding over five years for states to support “crisis intervention” services, including drug courts, mental health courts, and veterans treatment courts.
- Funds are distributed via the Department of Justice Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.
- Specialty treatment courts have proven effective at reducing crime and recidivism and in helping people to make positive changes in their lives and become contributing members of their communities.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that was passed by the Senate and signed into law in June included $750 million in funding over five years for states to support “crisis intervention” services. These services can include mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans treatment courts.
These treatment courts, sometimes called “problem-solving courts,” take a comprehensive approach to reducing crime, focusing on prevention, treatment, and enforcement. The programs divert people away from criminal sanctions and processes toward treatment and rehabilitation. The courts have proven effective at reducing crime and recidivism and in helping people get jobs, improve their financial situations, rebuild or establish relationships with family members, and become contributing members of their communities.
Drug Courts
Drug courts are special courts designed for people with substance use disorders. There are more than 3,800 drug courts in the United States. Around half are for adults charged with or convicted of crimes, others focus on youth in the juvenile justice system or parents with pending child welfare cases. Drug courts have been implemented or planned in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
While procedures can vary among jurisdictions and depending on the type of case, most drug court programs are based on a collaborative, rather than an adversarial approach. Cases are managed by multidisciplinary teams made up of prosecutors, defense attorneys, social workers, addiction specialists, judges, and others.
People who complete the programs can have their charges dismissed or even expunged. Participants who fail have their cases proceed as they normally would through the criminal justice system.
The programs are intense. Participants must be involved for months or even years to ensure long term progress, pass frequent and random drug tests, complete treatment for their substance abuse, and make regular appearances in court, among other requirements.
Specialty treatment courts have shown success. One study found drug court participants were significantly less likely than other offenders to have committed a crime 18 months after completing the program– 40% vs. 53%. The study found drug courts “produce significant reductions in drug relapses” as well as “significant reductions in criminal behavior.” The study found participation in a drug court led to reductions in the crimes of drug possession, drug sales offenses, driving while intoxicated, and property-related crime. Participants also had benefits in other areas of their lives, including improvements in employment, education, and personal finances. Drug court participants reported significantly fewer family conflicts than non-participants.
Treatment courts can also save taxpayers money. A 2007 study that examined the effect of drug courts over 10 years found that treatment and other costs associated with the drug court were $1,392 less per offender than the costs of traditional criminal justice processing. It estimated that savings due to reduced recidivism totaled $79 million over the 10-year period.
veterans treatment courts
Veterans treatment courts are a relatively new model of specialty court. In 2008, the city of Buffalo, New York, established a specialty treatment court for veterans. It proved so successful that hundreds of counties and states followed suit and established their own specialty courts for veterans, largely based on the Buffalo model. This approach builds on drug court principles, focusing on a collaborative approach that includes veteran-specific groups and includes assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs and volunteer veteran mentors.
These courts recognize that veterans have experiences and needs that may differ from civilians. The courts rely on the camaraderie that being a part of the military provides and aim to use military-style structure in their treatment programs. Veterans can complete the program alongside their former brothers and sisters in arms and are often mentored by fellow veterans, many of whom successfully completed treatment court programs.
mental health courts
Mental health courts also are built on the collaborative, multidisciplinary approach of drug and veterans courts. The Department of Justice says there are more than 150 of these courts across the country, “and more are being planned.” In addition to the people who would typically be involved in drug court cases, such as prosecutors and defense attorneys, mental health courts involve experts in mental illness and mental health treatment.
Although newer and not as well studied as drug courts, mental health courts are already proving successful. The state of California mental health system noted: “Most studies find that adult mental health courts have a positive effect on participants’ rehabilitation and criminal behavior during and after their participation. Specifically, studies have found that mental health court participants are significantly more likely to utilize treatment services, less likely to be rearrested, and spent fewer days in jail as opposed to nonparticipants.”
In a 2014 study that tracked mental health court participants’ records for at least five years, people who completed the program were rearrested 40% of the time, compared to 75% of people who did not complete the program.
federal grant programs
Federal funds included in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for crisis intervention services such as these treatment courts are distributed via the Department of Justice Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. The program provides funds to states, territories, tribes, and local governments to support a range of criminal justice efforts. Funds are distributed on a formula basis. The program has funded more than $7 billion in grants since 2005 and is the leading source of federal criminal justice funding to states and localities.
In addition, a number of existing federal grant programs can be used by states to implement and enhance treatment court services. The Bureau of Justice Assistance at DOJ administers the Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program, which supports adult drug courts. States, counties, cities, and federally recognized tribal governments are eligible to apply for grants. For fiscal year 2022, recipients were eligible for grants of up to $750 million for planning and implementation efforts. Statewide efforts were eligible for grants up to $2 million.
BJA also administers the Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program. The program funds efforts to “implement and to enhance veterans treatment court services to include coordination, management of veterans treatment court participants, and recovery support services.” Recipients were eligible for grants in the same amounts as the drug court program.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services administers grants to public and non-profit entities to “expand substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services in existing drug courts.” In FY 2022, recipients were eligible for grants of up to $400,000 per year, with a maximum overall grant of $2 million.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at DOJ administers grants “to enhance operational juvenile drug treatment courts by implementing evidence-based practices from the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines,” as well as grants “to establish new family treatment courts or enhance existing family treatment courts.” For statewide efforts, recipients were eligible for grants up to $820,000 for family treatment courts and up to $1.1 million for juvenile drug treatment courts.
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