I. Introduction
 

The Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribal Court has received a grant from the Office of Justice Programs Drug Court Program to plan and implement a special court on the Lake Traverse reservation designed to divert those persons with alcohol and drug addictions away from the regular court system and toward a more holistic approach which involves a treatment oriented perspective. In order to receive further funding for the Treatment Court, the Court needs to develop the procedures for the implementation of the Treatment Court. In late February of 1998 several members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Drug Court Team traveled to a national training for tribal court recipients of drug court grants in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At that meeting, the SWST Drug Court Team developed a broad outline of the goals of the Treatment Court, a copy of which is attached to these policies. The following policies and procedures are an attempt to implement these goals to allow the Treatment Court to start working with those tribal members who would more readily benefit from a treatment-oriented court system, rather than the typical adversarial system.

II. Procedures for the Treatment Court
 

A. Screening Process
 

The Treatment Court is designed to work with those offenders, juvenile and adult, who are in the legal system because of addiction disorders. The first step in identifying those persons, both adults and juveniles, who could benefit from the Treatment Court is a screening process. Effective screening will require the assistance of law enforcement when making arrests of those persons in an intoxicated condition because of alcohol and/or drugs, the tribal prosecutor in bringing to the attention of the court those persons who commit criminal offenses while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, and the tribe's treatment program, Dakotah Pride, which can do assessments to determine whether the arrest of an individual is indicative of an addiction which can be readily addressed through the Treatment Court. Persons will be screened as follows:
 

1. Role of Law Enforcement- When tribal law enforcement effectuates the arrest of a person, either an adult or juvenile, for an offense which is alcohol or drug-related, or which was committed while the person was under the influence, that fact shall be noted on the police report which is filed with the Tribal Prosecutor's office. In addition, the results of any blood or alcohol tests for drugs and alcohol shall be noted on the report.
 

2. Role of Tribal Prosecutor- The Tribal Prosecutor shall screen all complaints for alcohol or drug induced criminal activity, and for those non-violent offenders, may in the complaint recommend that either the prosecution of the Defendant, or the imposition of sentencing should the prosecutor believe there should be disposition of the criminal charge, be deferred to allow the individual to be evaluated to determine whether the Treatment Court would be a better vehicle to address his criminal behavior rather than the standard criminal procedure. Before making such a recommendation the Prosecutor shall review the criminal history of the Defendant to assess whether the person has a history of violent offenses.
 

3. Role of Tribal Judge- At the initial appearance if it appears upon the face of the complaint that the prosecutor is recommending deferral of the complaint or deferral of the imposition of sentence after a plea of guilty, in order to permit a Defendant to go through the Treatment Court, the Court will advise the Defendant or juvenile offender of the recommendation and advise him of the procedures of the Treatment Court. If the person consents to proceeding through the Treatment Court, the Tribal Judge shall refer the person to the Tribal Probation Officer who shall have the person execute a release of information and immediately refer the individual for a referral at Dakotah Pride to evaluate the extent of the individual's problem. Before any referral, the Judge must confirm that the individual has not been convicted of a violent offense which would disqualify him from the Treatment Program. The judge shall also at the initial appearance inform the Defendant or juvenile offender that should he fail to comply with the requirements of the Treatment court, his case will be referred back to the standard court and he will be called upon to either enter a plea or to be sentenced.
 

4. Role of the Probation Officer- The probation officer shall work with the prosecutor in assessing a Defendant's prior record to assure that no violent offenders are referred to the Treatment Court. If the person has no record of violent offenses, and consents to proceeding through the Treatment Court, the probation officer shall obtain an appropriate release from the Defendant and refer the individual to Dakotah Pride for an evaluation within 5 working days. The probation officer shall also open a file on each Treatment Court participant which at a minimum contains an explanation of the rights and obligations of those persons who enter the Treatment program and an explanation of the process for graduating from Treatment Court, as more adequately described herein.

The probation officer shall also be responsible for assuring that the individual obtains an evaluation and has that evaluation filed with the Court and for coordinating with Dakotah Pride on evaluations. Once the evaluation is received and the person is placed in Treatment Court the probation officer shall develop, in consultation with Dakotah Pride, the school where the juvenile attends if applicable, and other service providers in the community, a compliance plan for the individual over a period of one year which clearly spells out what the individual must do to graduate from the Treatment program. That compliance plan shall be in increments of three months or phases and clearly state how the person can advance from one stage to the next and what actions will result in the person being returned to a previous completed stage. The compliance plan shall also spell out the punishments that will be imposed for violations of the plan and rewards for compliance.
 

5. Role of the Treatment Provider- Dakotah Pride shall evaluate each person referred by the Tribal Court for possible placement in the Treatment Court to determine the degree of alcohol and drug dependence and to determine whether the person would benefit from a treatment-oriented judicial process rather than the typical punitive court process. Within 5 days of referral Dakotah Pride shall assess a person referred and make a recommendation to the Court regarding the suitability of the person for the Treatment Court and a proposed treatment regimen over a period of one year for the individual. If Dakotah Pride determines that the individual has mental health issues that predominate over alcohol and drug dependence issues, or that the person's willingness to participate in a treatment program is suspect, that information shall be made known to the Tribal Court which can then return the person to regular court or refer the person for a more appropriate program than Treatment Court.

If, however, the result of Dakotah Pride's evaluation indicates that the person would benefit from a treatment-oriented approach and is willing to address the alcohol and drug-dependence issues, the probation officer shall make that known to the Judge who shall then enter an order transferring that person to Treatment Court and ordering his appearance at the next regularly-schedule session of the Treatment Court. If Dakotah Pride's evaluation calls for immediate in-patient treatment the person shall attend and complete treatment before appearing for Treatment Court sessions.
 

III. Procedure in Treatment Court
 

Treatment court shall be conducted in an informal manner with an emphasis on rewarding positive behavior and applying immediate sanctions for violent behavior. Initially, the treatment court will be in two sessions, one session for adults and one for juveniles. Each session will be limited to a maximum of ten participants, none of whom can be previously convicted of

violent behavior. Treatment court sessions are mandatory and will be on a weekly basis for approximately one hour each. Those in attendance will be the Tribal Judge, the tribal prosecutor, probation officer and a representative of Dakotah Pride.

The probation officer will compile a compliance list for each person in Treatment Court containing a list of objectives identified by Dakotah Pride, the probation officer and School, where applicable, and a time period for meeting those objectives. The compliance list shall, at a minimum, cover the person's treatment program (in-patient or out-patient treatment, AA meeting attendance) and record of compliance; the person's compliance with paying for the cost of Treatment Court sessions and other costs for counseling and other requirements; a record of compliance with unannounced and announced PBT's and other tests for drugs or foreign substances; a spiritual aspect permitting the person to utilize his spiritual and religious beliefs to assist him in compliance (this will be optional and not imposed upon a person); employment or educational record; and a self-inventory to be completed each week by the individual revealing how he has worked on his Treatment Court program that week.

The Judge shall review each of the files before Court with the prosecutor and probation officer who will highlight any violations and provide a summary of how that person is doing. The Judge will then review with each participant his/her file and discuss compliance and any issues that the participant wishes to discuss in court, including any problems that the individual is having working with the various individuals in the court and the treatment program. If a violation is admitted in court the Judge shall immediately impose the appropriate sanction as indicated hereinafter. The Judge shall also promote and demote participants at the time of Treatment Court. Treatment Court will not be a court of record.
 

IV. Sanction and Rewards
 

In order to assure compliance and reinforce positive behavior the Court, probation officer and law enforcement shall have the authority to impose sanctions for violations of Treatment Court plans and to reinforce with rewards for accomplishments. The following is a list of sanctions for violations: consuming alcohol or drugs as revealed by 1st Offense, 2nd Offense, or 3rd Offense, reliable evidence or positive PBT, failure to pay costs, failure to work, failure to stay in touch with Probation Officer, failure to attend Treatment Court without Court or Probation Officer Consent. Law Enforcement shall have the authority to immediately impose the appropriate sanction when he discovers evidence that a violation has occurred. The Judge shall have the authority to impose jail time and to remove the person from Treatment Court and return him/her to regular court.

These sanctions can only be applied by the Tribal Judge and cannot be effectuated through the issuance of bench warrants. Treatment Court also requires positive reinforcement for behavior that addresses the individual's problem. The following are the rewards of Treatment Court with the ultimate reward, of course, being the completion of the program: When one completes the first 4 months of the program, he/she will advance to the second level and attend court once every month. When one completes the first 8 months of the program, he/she will advance to the third level and attend court once every month. After completion on the program one will graduate one no longer be required to attend court.