California's Orange County Finds Success with Drug Courts
Few can argue with the outstanding rate of success found in drug courts in Orange County, Calif. While skeptics have dismissed the value of drug court rehabilitation over incarceration, the true numbers coming out of Orange County put their objections to rest.
Orange County's Collaborative Court programs "offer therapeutic, life-changing alternatives to the revolving door of incarceration and re-arrest," according to Collaborative Courts Officer Paul W. Shapiro in a March 15, 2010, cover letter to the 2009 annual report.
Shapiro adds, "The success of these programs, both economic and social, is reflected in many ways."
Orange County's 2009 statistics show drug courts work for the betterment of individuals and society, while saving tax dollars:
? Drug Court saved 25,343 jail bed days for a cost savings of more than $2,383,000, and 13,966 prison bed days, for a cost savings of more than $1,360,000.
? Juvenile Drug Court saved 3,055 days of custody, for a cost savings of more than $452,750.
? DUI Court saved 24,796 jail bed days, for a cost savings of more than $2,330,600.
Other highlights of Orange County's program include:
? Dependency Drug Court led to the early reunification of 63 children with clean and sober parents, resulting in an estimated savings of more than $2 million, of which the county's share was more than $875,000.
? Researchers for the Administrative Office of the Courts found that every $1 invested in the Drug Court at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana resulted in a total cost savings of $7.30.
? Females in the adult and juvenile Drug Court, DUI Court, and mental health court programs have given birth to 147 drug-free babies while participating in the program, saving the heath care system millions of dollars.
? The DUI Courts have graduated 514 DUI offenders, each of whom had been arrested for the second or third time.
"This has saved health care costs for many people — including the participants who will live longer, healthier lives and the innocent victims who will not be injured or die in future automobile accidents," Shapiro reports.
Those who worry about putting criminals back on the street should note Orange County's low rates of recidivism:
? Drug Court graduates who have been out of the program for three years have a recidivism rate, for any crime, that is far less than half the rate of offenders who qualified for but did not participate in Drug Court (32% compared to 74%).
? Of the Juvenile Drug Court graduates out of the program for two years, only 18% had a subsequent referral to Probation.
? Of the mental health court graduates, only 15% have been re-arrested.
? Of the 514 DUI Court graduates, only 19 have been re-arrested for drunken driving — a recidivism rate of 3.7%.
Working hand in hand with drug courts are the Orange County drug and alcohol rehabilitation providers, such as National Therapeutic Services, which has worked with Orange County probation for more than 20 years.
"This means that we can take addicts and alcoholics who otherwise might have been sent to jail or prison and treat them in-lieu of imprisonment," NTS reports on its website.
"When looking for a drug or alcohol Treatment Program that is probation approved make sure you ask the treatment facility you are looking at what court services they provide," NTS adds on its website.
Orange County's Collaborative Court programs "offer therapeutic, life-changing alternatives to the revolving door of incarceration and re-arrest," according to Collaborative Courts Officer Paul W. Shapiro in a March 15, 2010, cover letter to the 2009 annual report.
Shapiro adds, "The success of these programs, both economic and social, is reflected in many ways."
Orange County's 2009 statistics show drug courts work for the betterment of individuals and society, while saving tax dollars:
? Drug Court saved 25,343 jail bed days for a cost savings of more than $2,383,000, and 13,966 prison bed days, for a cost savings of more than $1,360,000.
? Juvenile Drug Court saved 3,055 days of custody, for a cost savings of more than $452,750.
? DUI Court saved 24,796 jail bed days, for a cost savings of more than $2,330,600.
Other highlights of Orange County's program include:
? Dependency Drug Court led to the early reunification of 63 children with clean and sober parents, resulting in an estimated savings of more than $2 million, of which the county's share was more than $875,000.
? Researchers for the Administrative Office of the Courts found that every $1 invested in the Drug Court at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana resulted in a total cost savings of $7.30.
? Females in the adult and juvenile Drug Court, DUI Court, and mental health court programs have given birth to 147 drug-free babies while participating in the program, saving the heath care system millions of dollars.
? The DUI Courts have graduated 514 DUI offenders, each of whom had been arrested for the second or third time.
"This has saved health care costs for many people — including the participants who will live longer, healthier lives and the innocent victims who will not be injured or die in future automobile accidents," Shapiro reports.
Those who worry about putting criminals back on the street should note Orange County's low rates of recidivism:
? Drug Court graduates who have been out of the program for three years have a recidivism rate, for any crime, that is far less than half the rate of offenders who qualified for but did not participate in Drug Court (32% compared to 74%).
? Of the Juvenile Drug Court graduates out of the program for two years, only 18% had a subsequent referral to Probation.
? Of the mental health court graduates, only 15% have been re-arrested.
? Of the 514 DUI Court graduates, only 19 have been re-arrested for drunken driving — a recidivism rate of 3.7%.
Working hand in hand with drug courts are the Orange County drug and alcohol rehabilitation providers, such as National Therapeutic Services, which has worked with Orange County probation for more than 20 years.
"This means that we can take addicts and alcoholics who otherwise might have been sent to jail or prison and treat them in-lieu of imprisonment," NTS reports on its website.
"When looking for a drug or alcohol Treatment Program that is probation approved make sure you ask the treatment facility you are looking at what court services they provide," NTS adds on its website.
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