Drug Courts

Drug Courts: Treatment, Testing, and Continuous Monitoring
Alcohol Monitoring Systems is proud to be a gold-level corporate sponsor of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), the flagship association (www.nadcp.org) serving the country's drug court ecosystem. Drug courts now exist in all 50 states, with nearly 1,200 drug courts in existence or being planned.

We fully embrace NADCP's therapeutic approach to criminal justice where offenders are required to undergo drug and alcohol treatment, frequent drug and alcohol testing, and close monitoring, which includes regular court visits. This approach was designed to ensure short-term accountability in the criminal adjudication process and a long-term reduction in recidivism.

Drug Courts nationwide are using SCRAM to fully automate the alcohol testing and reporting process. Because of its technical innovation, SCRAM provides intervenors (judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, substance abuse treatment specialists, probation officers, law enforcement and correctional personnel, educational and vocational experts, community leaders and others) with the ability to reliably classify alcohol-related offenders and assess compliance with sentencing requirements and treatment guidelines.

With SCRAM in Your Drug Court Program, Your Team Can:

	Test for alcohol once an hour or as often as 48 times per day for the same daily cost.
	Minimize costs and staff time associated with alcohol testing-SCRAM tests are automatic and require no supervision or participation by the offender. And set-up is quick and user-friendly.
	Work to ensure an offender can meet their many obligations association with a Drug Court program-counseling, family, work, meetings-no more time-consuming testing programs or randomly scheduled travel to a testing center.
	Support an offender's efforts to deal with the alcohol abuse or addiction. SCRAM promotes accountability and rapid intervention. No loopholes, no excuses.
	Focus on the offenders, not the technology. No costly IT requirements, expensive hardware maintenance, or software installations or upgrades.

DUI (Sobriety) Courts: A persistent problem meets a new generation of alcohol monitoring
Capitalizing on the success of Drug Courts across the country, DUI (Sobriety) Courts are springing up across the country to deal with the persistent issue of DUI arrests and the associated fatalities, injuries, and property damage. Addressing the requirement for abstinence and the unique challenges of testing for alcohol consumption, DUI Court practitioners universally acknowledge that alcohol testing calls for greater coordination, more frequent testing, more innovative testing technologies, and a higher level of personal communication than most drug testing programs.

SCRAM is revolutionizing the way Sobriety Courts are testing their DUI offenders. SCRAM NET 's centralized, secure database allows qualified Drug Court staff to access offender test results at any time, from any location. Treatment providers can intervene quickly and effectively to a violation. And the entire court team can identify reliably who is in compliance-and who is not. No other testing technology provides a more accurate, cost-effective, and customizable alcohol-testing program.

More About NADCP
As its mission, NADCP seeks to reduce substance abuse (drugs and alcohol), crime and recidivism by promoting and advocating for the establishment and funding of drug courts and providing for collection and dissemination of information, technical assistance, and mutual support to association members.

Founded in 1994, NADCP represents professionals involved in the development, implementation and institutionalization of drug court programs. Its members represent all facets of the drug court field, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment providers, rehabilitation experts, researchers, educators, law enforcement representatives, correctional representatives, pre-trial officers and probation officers.

NADCP has become a national voice in promoting the effectiveness of drug courts, advocating for the creation of drug courts and implementing drug court policy. NADCP is the only national organization that represents drug court professionals on Capitol Hill, and works to promote and advocate for the establishment and funding of drug court programs.

What Are Drug Courts and Why Do We Need Them?
A drug court is a special court given the responsibility to handle cases involving drug-using offenders through comprehensive supervision, drug testing, alcohol testing, treatment services and immediate sanctions and incentives. Drug court programs bring the full weight of all intervenors to bear, forcing the offender to deal with his or her substance abuse problem. In addition, drug courts ensure consistency in judicial decision-making and enhance the coordination of agencies and resources, increasing the cost effectiveness of programs.

Do Drug Courts Save Money?
Incarceration of drug using offenders costs between $20,000 and $50,000 per person, per year. The capital costs of building a prison cell can be as much as $80,000. In contrast, a comprehensive drug court system typically costs between $2,500 and $4,000 annually for each offender.

Are Drug Courts Programs "Soft on Crime"?
Drug courts across the country control participants' drug usage and activity through: frequent drug testing, intensive supervision and judicial monitoring and immediate sanctions that include terms of incarceration to respond to program violations. This same population currently receives little jail time, supervision, drug testing or treatment, giving these offenders little reason to change their behaviors. Drug courts also provide incentives to participants who comply with program requirements; reducing terms of probation, treatment, conditions, program fees and other innovative rewards.