The Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England (ATTC/NE), funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), is offering an advanced online workshop on drug court treatment.

In the late 1980’s drug courts were implemented as a response to provide an intervention for non-violent substance abusing offenders. Notably, the Miami/Dade County Drug Court was the first court implemented. It has been operational since 1989 when the Honorable Judge Herbert M. Klien continued to experience repeated and detrimental effects of drug offenses within his circuit. He “became determined to solve the problem of larger numbers of people on drugs." (Miami's Drug Court: A Different Approach, 1993) This drug court has become a model program for the Nation (National Criminal Justice Reference Service, n.d.). 

Trends reveal substance-abusing offenders, who were also returning to the legal system repeatedly, have heavily affected the criminal justice system. Many offenders were committing non-violent crimes related to alcohol or other drug charges. The traditional adversarial system of justice was ineffective at addressing substance abuse issues. At the same time, treatment and continued support for substance abusers, has diminished greatly, in both the private and public system. The innovation of drug court treatment combined with legal case processing increases the participant's accountability while providing long-term treatment to assist in behavioral change through sustained program support. Potential outcomes of supportive court monitoring combined with treatment suggest the offender will experience a change in behavior and decrease recidivism (National Association of Drug Court Professionals, 2000; Senjo & Leip, 2001)  

Drug treatment courts ensure the full involvement of the key stakeholders. The primary stakeholders include a presiding judge and sometimes an alternate judge, designated to oversee all proceedings of the drug court process, prosecution, defense counsel, law enforcement, police / sheriff department, probation, correctional staff, community partners, and substance abuse treatment representatives. Combined, the drug court team directs a mandated process of accountability and treatment of the drug court participant in an effort to accomplish three outcomes: (1) reduce recidivism, (2) provide treatment, and (3) accountability of the offender. In exchange for involved participation in drug treatment court, the offender may be offered a variety of outcomes depending upon the individual program (U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Courts Program Office, 1997).

Diane Sherman, MSA, NCAC-II, is an independent organizational consultant specializing in substance abuse services. She graduated from Columbus University in 1988 with a Masters of Science degree in Health Services Administration, and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She is also a National Certified Addiction Counselor-II and a Certified Employee Assistance Professional. Her professional career spans over 25 years. She provide consulting and facilitation services for drug treatment courts and behavioral health agencies. Recently, she consulted with drug treatment courts in Georgia, and completed a statewide program evaluation for Superior Court drug court programs. As a program surveyor for an international accrediting agency, she contributed to national accreditation standards for drug treatment courts. She has conducted training events and presented workshops at local, regional, and national conferences drug court treatment and topics relevant to addiction professionals.


Course Objectives

The objectives of this program are:

• Gain a broader understanding of treatment drug courts as an integrated approach

• Understand the necessary components to include in the drug court structure

• Identify specific screening and assessment tools appropriate for substance abusing offenders

• Increase knowledge related to legal and ethical issues for drug court participants and practitioners

Course Requirements:

This is a four-week course beginning July 7, 2008, that will require:

• Required on-line reading (one hour per week)
• Completion of pre and post test
• Completion of weekly homework assignments (one hour per week)
• Participation in the weekly forum
• Completion of an on-line course evaluation

*Please note that there are no real time events associated with this course. Lessons will be posted on the class WWW home page on Tuesdays and responses are due the following Monday. Assignments can be accessed at the participant's convenience.

The total cost of this course is $40.00 the course payment is due by July 7, 2008.  A full refund is available up until the posting of the second lesson (July 17, 2008), after which there will be no refunds.

ACCREDITATION

This four-week course, which begins July 7, 2008, has been approved by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) for 8 educational credits. It is being provided by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England, which is accredited as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider (#000151). This course meets the qualifications for 8 hours of continuing education credit for MFCC's and/or LCSW's as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (PCE#1917). Application in process for approval for this course by the Connecticut Certification Board (CCB) for eight Category 1 continuing education for Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors (CADC's). The CCB is an IC&RC affiliate. The New York State OASAS does accept distance education CEUs provided by the Addiction Technology Transfer Network for individuals pursuing or renewing a CASAC, CPP or CPS. Certificates will be mailed within two weeks to participants in the program for its duration who submit all required materials. Please contact your local certification board to verify reciprocity or acceptance of ATTC-NE contact hours.

To participate, you must have:

• An E-mail address and the capacity to retrieve and send E-mail;
• Access to World Wide Web (the following programs provide WWW access: Netscape, Apple CyberDog, and Microsoft Explorer)
• Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher is the preferred browser for ATTC-NE online courses
• The ability to navigate the World Wide Web
• A basic understanding of how to use a computer and send and receive email

PLEASE NOTE NETWORK AND COMPUTER TECHNICAL SUPPORT WILL NOT BE PROVIDED.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: July 7, 2008 or when the course limit is reached.

To register for this course please go to the following WWW site and complete the 'Drug Treatment Courts' course online registration form. YOU MUST COMPLETE THE ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COURSE
https://www.attc-ne.org/courses/348/reg.html

For a list of current ATTC-NE courses, please go to the following site:
http://www.Attc-ne.org and click on Distance Education. Please Bookmark this site for future references. Course announcements will be made via the ATTC of New England Online Course Announcement Listserve 6-8 weeks prior to the start of each course. If you would like to be subscribed to this list, please contact Monte Bryant, Program Administrator, at Monte Bryant, or (401) 863-6606.

This program is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).

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