What do most effective drug court programs require of participants? Examine research findings that compare active drug court participants with participants in other programs for drug-involved offenders.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The most effective drug court programs require participants to have (1) at least two judicial status hearings per month, (2) at least two urine drug tests per month, (3) at least one clinical case management session per week, and (4) a minimum of 35 days of formal drug-abuse treatment sessions.
Research shows that compared with participants in other programs for drug-involved offenders, active drug court participants, especially those who graduate from the program, (1) are less likely to relapse to drug use and, when they do relapse, they use drugs significantly less often than they did before participating in the program; (2) are less likely to commit self-acknowledged criminal acts; (3) are less likely to be rearrested for substantial amounts of time after completing the program; and (4) are more likely to reap psychosocial benefits not related to drug use or criminal behavior, such as less family conflict, being enrolled in school, and needing less assistance with employment, educational services, and financial issues.