Over 65,000 individuals have enrolled in drug courts to date. A profileof drug court participants that emerges from responses from 256 participants1

in the final phases of 52 different drug courts in 23 different states,and other data reported periodically by operating programs, indicates thefollowing:

Enrollment & Performance

Significantly more males than females are enrolling in drug court programs; and in some programs, those females who participate in drug courts appear to be more heavily involved with drugs and a drug "lifestyle" (including prostitution) by the time they become involved in the criminal court process than males.

Where day care, special women's groups, and other special services are offered, females are graduating at a higher rate than their male counterparts.

For voluntary programs, a high percentage of defendants offered the opportunity to participate in the drug court accept it despite the more rigorous requirements of the drug court compared with the traditional sanctions to which they are exposed.

Demographics

_ The average age of drug court participants is generally over 30; the average age of graduates in each program is often older than the average age for all program participants. The age range for the 256 participants who responded to the 1997 Drug Court Survey Report questionnaire is shown below.

Age Percent of Participant Respondents

under 20 5%

21-29 30%

30-39 42%

40-49 19%

50-59 2%

over 60 1%

In a number of programs, the average age for women participants is youngerthan for male participants.

Most participants who responded to the 1997 Drug Court Survey Reportquestionnaire were single, divorced or widowed. Only 25% of the respondentswere currently married. Men were more frequently single or never marriedthan women (56% vs. 41%). More women were currently married than men (28%vs. 21%.). The marital status of the respondents was:

Total

Respondents Male Female

Divorced 24% 16% 8%

Single 49% 35% 14%

Married 25% 15% 10%

Widowed 2% 1% 1%

Female Male

Respondents Respondents

Single 41% 56%

Divorced 28% 22%

Married 28% 21%

Widowed 3% 1%

 

Approximately 16% of the 256 participants who responded were either veterans (13%) or in the active military (3%).

 

Drug Usage

Most drug court parti cipa nts have been using drug s for at least 15 years, and generally much longer. Most use multiple drugs.

More than one quarter of drug court participants have participated unsuccessfully in at least one -- and often more -- prior treatment programs.

Many drug court participants have previously served time in prison for prior drug offenses.

Educational Status

Almost all of the drug court programs require a high school diploma orGED certification in order to graduate. The educational profile of participantswho provided information for the 1997 Drug Court Survey Report wasas follows:

less than an eighth grade education 5%

some high school 25%

high school graduate or GED certificate 36%

two years of post high school technical training 9%

two years of college 15%

three to four years of college 6%

undergraduate college degree 2%

had post graduate study 2%

Employment Status

Many individuals participating in the drug court are either able to retaintheir jobs or obtain employment as a result of drug court participation.

While a small percentage of drug court participants have steady jobsat the time of program entry, a substantial number of participants in mostdrug courts (generally over 65%) are unemployed or employed on a sporadicbasis. Many of the individuals who are employed at the time of program entryreport that they were able to retain their employment despite their arrestby demonstrating participation in the drug court and a high proportion ofunemployed individuals obtain employment while enrolled.

A number of drug courts (Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas, for example)have a job counselor on site dedicated to working with drug court participants.Almost all of the drug courts provide vocational training and job developmentservices. Many judges also work with local employers to personally guaranteedaily supervision of persons in the drug court in order for them to eitherretain or obtain employment.

The experience of drug court participants who are able to either retainor obtain employment as a result of entering the drug court is reflectedin the following information provided by representative jurisdictions:

Percentage of Participants Retaining/Obtaining Employment While in theDrug Court

Austin, TX 74% retained/obtained employment

Bakersfield, CA 47% retained/obtained employment

Birmingham, AL 53% retained; 39% obtained employment

Erie Co., OH 46% retained; 23% obtained employment

Fort Worth, TX 98% retained/obtained employment

Greenfield, MA 33% retained ;19% obtained employment

Kalamazoo, MI everyone who leaves program has to be either employed orin school full time

Laguna Nigel. CA 52% retained; 22% obtained employment

Marathon, FL 90% retained/obtained employment

Panama City, FL 61% retained; 28% obtained employment

Pensacola, FL 50 - 60% have obtained employment; in addition, a localmaintenance service regularly employs at least 20 drug court participantsat any one time

Portland, OR 65-70% are unemployed when they enter the drug court; allare sent to a job referral service, which has had an office on site at thedrug court, and at least 70 - 80% are employed by the time they leave thedrug court;

Rochester, NY 80%+ (all graduates required to have jobs and GED)

Roanoke, VA 60% retained, 40% obtained employment

St. Mary's Parish, LA 32% retained, 20% obtained employment

San Diego, CA 30% obtained employment

Santa Ana, CA 30% retained, 27% obtained employment

Santa Clara Co., CA 49% (33% obtained; 16% retained) employed

Visalia, CA 60% (work force prep. component required) employed

Worcester, MA 40% retain, 50% obtain employment

Yosemite, Federal District 100% retained employment

Information Relating to Childrenof Participants

Many drug court participants are parents. Over two thirds of the 256 drug court participants responding to the 1997 Drug Court Survey are parents of minor children, many of whom are in foster care at the time the parent enters the program.

Drug courts are resulting in family reunification in many instances. In many programs, parents who have lost custody or are in danger of losing custody of their children because of their drug use have regained them upon completion of the drug court program.

In Pensacola, for example, the first two graduates of the dependency drug court established in early 1996 illustrate the impact of the drug court on the families of these women: one of the women had four minor children, the other had five minor children. Both had a long history of drug usage; one had been in state prison for three years, having been sent to prison by the drug court judge when he presided over her previous criminal case. She was a classic crack addict while the other was primarily alcohol and marijuana addicted; neither had any permanent residence and neither had any work history. Together, they had a cumulative total of nine children, all of whom were living in foster care;

Both now have a home; (1 rents; one owns); one is working; both families are reunited; neither mother currently uses drugs and both have been clean for at least 12 months at the time of the writing of this report.

In Portland, almost all of the over 100 female participants who have lost custody of their minor children due to their substance abuse have regained custody of their children at the conclusion of their participation in the Drug Court.

In Kalamazoo, at least 15% - 20% of the women in the female drug court program are usually also involved with Probate Court proceedings regarding the loss of custody of their children and almost all of them regain custody of their children following completion of the drug court. Participants in the newly established male drug court, while not as extensively involved with the loss of custody of their children, have brought in letters from their children and wives to the drug court judge, expressing their gratitude at having their fathers and husbands "back" from drugs.

In Las Vegas, at least forty women who have lost custody of their children have regained them after completing the drug court program.

Drug courts are providing a wide array of family services Almost all of the drug courts provide family counseling and at least half provide assistance with housing, food and clothing. Most of the programs also provide parenting classes as well as include special segments on stress management and anger management.

Birth of drug-free babies is an unplanned program benefit. Well over 450 drug free babies have been reported born to drug court participants, including one set of twins in Rochester, and a number of pregnant women are currently participating in drug court programs across the country.

1 As part of the survey distribution, each drug court judge was asked to distribute a questionnaire regarding participant perceptions to at least five participants in the final phase of the drug court program in his or her jurisdiction. It should be noted, therefore, that the responses of these 256 individuals do not necessarily reflect the information that might have been obtained from a broader survey of drug court participants. It is, however, consistent with other periodic information we obtain from operating drug courts.

Table of Contents | Chapter I | ChapterII | Chapter III | Appendices

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