News
Conference Presentations Address Impact of Drug Courts on Recidivism and Costs and the Effectiveness of Family Treatment Drug Courts and Juvenile Drug Courts
NPC researchers Shannon Carey, Michael Finigan, and Juliette Mackin presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) in St. Louis, MO, on May 29, 2008. They discussed drug court practices and their impact on recidivism and costs. Among other findings, they noted that courts using evaluation feedback to make modifications to the drug court program had 4 times greater cost savings. The researchers also pointed out that drug courts providing formal training for all team members had 5 times greater savings. View the presentation: Powerpoint.
A second presentation at the NADCP conference focused on the effectiveness of family treatment drug courts and juvenile drug courts. NPC researchers Finigan, Scott Burrus, Carey, and Mackin explained that FTDC parents are more likely to enter treatment, spend more time in treatment, and complete treatment. Among other findings, they noted that FTDC children were more likely to be reunified with their parents at the end of the case. View the presentation: Powerpoint.
Evaluation of Harford County Family Recovery Court Finds Positive Child Welfare, Treatment, and Criminal Justice Outcomes, and Potential Cost Savings
NPC Research recently completed a 2-year evaluation of the Harford County, Maryland Family Recovery Court (FRC). This evaluation included a process, outcome, and cost component. Results from the evaluation indicate that program participation may result in less foster care utilization, increased likelihood of reunification and substance use treatment completion, and decreased use of criminal justice resources. During this study we found that FRC families utilized less foster care and were more likely to achieve reunification; therefore, these FRC cases were less costly to the child welfare system than other child welfare cases. Further, as FRC parents use fewer criminal justice resources, the total cost savings per year of Harford County FRC operations was nearly $317,000, or approximately $12,000 per served family. See Executive Summary. See Final Report.
Training and Resources Guide for Transition to Kindergarten Released
The Transition to Kindergarten Research Team, led by Beth Green, NPC Vice President and Senior Research Associate, has published a Training and Resources Guide packed with presentations, activities, recommendations, and best practices. The Transforming Transitions to Kindergarten project focuses on supporting children to have the social and emotional skills they need to make the difficult adjustment from preschool to kindergarten. The researchers have been developing and testing a two-pronged intervention focused on (1) providing training to preschool staff, mental health professionals, and program managers to enhance their capacity to implement effective early childhood mental health and transition services; and (2) implementing a family-driven, team-based approach to supporting successful transitions for children with emotional and behavioral challenges. The project is run through the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health at Portland State University, funded in part by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. See the Guide
Healthy Start of Oregon Screens More Families in Latest Fiscal Year
Healthy Start is Oregon’s largest child abuse prevention program. In FY 2006-07, despite a 20% cut in general fund allocations during the 2005-07 biennium, Healthy Start screened more families than in any prior year (9,788 families, representing 50% of eligible births). Oregon’s Healthy Start program is unique in the nation, providing universal screening and referral services to first-time parents, and research-based home visiting services to families at higher risk of maltreatment and other negative outcomes. Outcomes for Oregon’s Healthy Start program are consistently positive across a variety of domains known to be important to supporting children’s healthy development and reducing the risk for child maltreatment. See Executive Summary. See full report. See Appendices, including data tables.
Evaluation of Michigan DUI Courts Yields Favorable Findings
This evaluation was designed as a longitudinal study that included tracking and collecting data on DUI court participants for a minimum of one year following either program completion or termination from DUI Court and a comparison group of offenders who were eligible for DUI court in the year prior to DUI court implementation. Data were abstracted from several sources including site visits, the Criminal History Records (CHR) database maintained by the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Judicial Warehouse (JDW). The evaluation results demonstrated that the DUI court is effective in reducing recidivism and reducing drug and alcohol use while using fewer criminal justice system resources to accomplish these goals. See Executive Summary. See full report.
Minnesota Study Examines Chemical Dependency and Mental Health Funding and Service Provision Structures of Adult and D.U.I. Drug Courts
In November 2006, the Minnesota State Court Administrator’s Office (SCAO) contracted with NPC Research for a study of the chemical dependency and mental health funding and service provision structures of Minnesota’s D.W.I. and adult drug courts. The study concluded that Minnesota’s drug court initiative is relatively young in comparison to other states. Despite this fact, the state is making a concerted effort to foster and expand its drug court programs through the establishment of the DCI and the availability of state funds for drug courts, among other things. The state can strengthen its drug courts and move to the forefront of the national drug court movement by building a state-level drug court infrastructure to strengthen existing courts, establish additional courts, and integrate mental health services into the drug court model. See 2-page brief. See full report.
