SF kicks off Prevention & Family Recovery initiative

“The Court understands the impact of intergenerational poverty and drug addiction on the children served by Dependency Drug Court. This initiative will help the Court strengthen its partnerships and provide targeted services to nurture parent-child relationships and family stability.”

 – Presiding Judge Cynthia Ming-mei Lee 

San Francisco was selected as one of four sites to receive a Doris Duke Foundation Prevention and Family Recovery (PFR) grant to enhance services for families participating in Dependency Drug Court (DDC). Representatives from San Francisco's multidisciplinary team attended the PFR Leadership Development kick-off meeting this month in Newport Beach, CA. 

L-R: Eden Woldemariam (Homeless Prenatal Program), Katie Best (HealthRIGHT 360), Sylvia Deporto (Human Services Agency), Lynn Dolce (Department of Public Health), Jennifer Pasinosky (Superior Court), Dora Miranda (Superior Court), Miriam Silverman (Infant Parent Program), Jill Gresham (Children & Family Futures), Hon. Linda Colfax (Superior Court), Theresa Lemus (Children and Family Futures) Not pictured: Kimberlee Pitters (Department of Public Health)

The PFR initiative is overseen by Children and Family Futures, a nonprofit leader in the field of Family Drug Courts. Through this grant, DDC will provide evidence-based in-home parenting education to all participating families with children 0-5 years old and implement a “One Family, One Plan” strategy to ensure parent, child, and family services are integrated and highly coordinated across systems.

DDC's efforts will build upon the Interagency Service Collaborative (iASC), San Francisco's response to the Katie A. settlement agreement in California, requiring county governments to "improve the provision of mental health and supportive services for children and youth in, or at imminent risk of placement in, foster care in California."

The PFR grant also includes intensive technical assistance and program evaluation to support systemic change, identify best practices, and disseminate findings to other Family Drug Courts across the country. The other three sites were Robeson County, NC, Tompkins County, NY, and Pima County, AZ.

DDC's partners are excited for the opportunity to provide enhanced parenting services and implement systemic changes that help strengthen families and support long-term success. The project implementation date is July 1, 2014.

Click here to view the Superior Court’s press release.

Court-Ordered Mental Health Treatment Shows Positive Results

On July 30, 2013, The New York Times featured an article about legislation enacted in New York State allowing people with mental health disorders to be court-ordered to treatment, even if they are not hospitalized. Kendra's Law, as it is known, also allocates State resources to expand mental health services.

"The program, which costs New York $32 million for the 2,000 to 2,500 people under court order each year, provides intensive monitoring by caseworkers, who are supposed to ensure that patients attend therapy and adhere to medication. Under the law, New York also spends $125 million a year for enhanced outpatient mental health services for others."

The results are promising. 

Researchers from Duke University "examined costs for 634 people who received court orders between January 2004 and December 2005. It compared costs in the year before the court orders, the year after and two years after. Jeffrey Swanson, a psychiatry professor at Duke and lead author of the study, said the results suggested that 'if you pour some money into assisted outpatient treatment, if you target it correctly, there are some significant savings.'

"A co-author, Dr. Marvin Swartz, head of Duke’s social and community psychiatry division, said...  patients 'were less likely to return to the hospital, if they went to the hospital they had shorter lengths of stay, they were more likely to be adherent to medication, and generally they functioned better in the community."

The Duke study was published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Click here to read The New York Times article.

NADCP News: "Administration Redoubles Its Efforts to Expand Drug Courts"

"Drug court is what real drug policy reform looks like." 

-- ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske

Administration Redoubles Its Efforts to Expand Drug Courts
and Other Evidence-based Sentencing Options

ONDCP Director Kerlikowske Announces Award During National Press Club Speech

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director, Gil Kerlikowske announced today that NADCP will receive a $1.4 million grant to expand the reach of Drug Courts and the groundbreaking justice reform model, the Annuals of Research and Knowledge on Successful Offender Management (ARK). Based on the Risk and Need Responsively theory, the ARK was designed as a reform framework to assess offenders and sort them into a systemic continuum of evidence-based sentencing options. Today’s announcement represents a groundbreaking step towards significant justice reform across all points of the adult justice system.

The National Press Club speech was attended by justice leaders and policy experts from across the criminal justice spectrum. Representing NADCP was an incredible group of treatment court pioneers covering over twenty years of alternative sentencing innovation and leadership. Joining NADCP CEO West Huddleston were Board Chair Judge Robert Rancourt, Board Member Judge Pamela Gray, and former Board Chairs Judge Lou Presenza, Judge John Schwartz, and Judge Chuck Simmons.

“Drug Court is what real drug policy reform looks like,” said ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske. “By giving non-violent drug offenders a chance to reclaim their lives through treatment, we can finally begin to break the cycle of drug use, crime, and incarceration in America. Every dollar we spend on supporting this type of drug policy reform pays dividends in safer and healthier communities later on.”

“Today, our vision of a solution-oriented justice system is significantly closer to becoming reality,” said NADCP CEO West Huddleston. “This funding will allow NADCP and its partners to put the ARK into practice. We remain grateful that through this funding, Congress and the Administration continues its commitment to expand the reach of Drug Courts and ensure that they remain a cornerstone of much needed criminal justice reform.”

“We look forward to taking the ARK to scale,” said NADCP Board Chair Judge Judge Robert Rancourt. “In doing so, NADCP commits to collaborating with leaders from the law enforcement, corrections, probation, prosecution, defense, substance abuse and mental health communities. Working together, we will build a comprehensive system that will forever change the delivery of effective justice in this country.”

To learn more about the ARK, watch NADCP Chief of Science, Law and Policy and ARK co-creator Dr. Doug Marlowe present during the NADCP 18th Annual Training Conference.

ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske praises Drug Courts during his remarks, NADCP Board Chair Judge Robert Rancourt flanked by former Board Chairs Judge Chuck Simmons (l) and Judge John Schwartz (r), former NADCP Board Chair Judge Lou Presenza and  Board Member Judge Pamela Gray talks with Director Kerlikowske