drug court

The impacts of jail extend far beyond the people who are incarcerated, having direct consequences for families. From general stress and anxiety, to lost income and support, to concerns about reunification and recidivism, countless families confront the associated burdens of incarceration each year in the United States.

Drug court practitioners and harm reductionists have a shared interest in improving public health and community safety. These two fields are also likely to co-exist and confront similar challenges for years to come. As such, this presentation represents a new and necessary conversation— one that will help to bridge the gap between the two contrasting paradigms. The training will provide an overview of what harm reduction is— its origins, evolution, and guiding principles— and highlight the benefits and challenges of integrating harm reduction in the drug court space.

This presentation will provide an overview of racial and ethnic disparities in drug treatment courts. Presenters will outlines decision points to address racial and ethnic disparities using NADCP’s Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards. Learners will be empowered to be intentional in identifying opportunities to invoke change in practice, procedure, or policies that affect and improve racial equity outcomes in their own professional roles.

The NDCRC is conducting an evaluation of the implementation, breadth, and use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) at the state level. These data will be analyzed in conjunction with opioid prescribing rates, comparing rates alongside data from states that do and no not have PDMPs. We hypothesize that the implementation of PDMPs will correlate with a decrease in opioid prescribing rates.

Maryland's Virtual 17th Annual Problem-Solving Court Symposium was held December 14, 2021. NDCRC co-directors Dr. Christina Lanier and Dr. Kristen DeVall presented on the use of recovery-oriented language and how making small changes in practice can have a large influence over the recovery process.

For decades, drug courts have been the leading model serving justice-involved individuals with opioid use disorders, and they continue to play a role in combating the overdose crisis. Drug courts alone, however, are not enough. New courtroom and community-based strategies are needed to ensure swift linkages to evidence-based treatments — including medications for opioid use disorder — wraparound supports, and harm reduction services.

Held meeting with treatment court graduate peers to learn about their post-graduation experience, aftercare, alumni associations and their involvement with the court after graduation.

Held meeting with treatment court graduate peers to learn about their post-graduation experience, aftercare, alumni associations and their involvement with the court after graduation.