Juvenile Drug Treatment Court

Mission

To reach enhanced public safety by reducing future drug-related offenses by children and young adults in Washtenaw County through community partnerships, led by a court supervised drug treatment program for court-involved juvenile offenders and their families that builds upon their strengths and provides offenders with the resources and skills to become drug free, responsible citizens.

Goals

  • Reduce substance abuse for Juvenile Drug Court (JDC) participants
  • Reduce delinquency of Juvenile Drug Court participants
  • Engage youth in educational or job training programs
  • Help youth to live in a household that is safe and drug-free

The Team

The JDC is operated on a collaborative basis and includes, but is not limited to, representatives from the following departments / disciplines:

Eligibility

Any court involved juvenile between the ages of 13 and 16 ½ years old who has been charged with a crime other than a violent crime, sexual offense or capital offense is eligible for acceptance into the JDC Program. Eligible JDC participants are identified early through appropriate screening and assessment tools and are placed according to their needs within a continuum of alcohol and drug treatment services including residential treatment programming and, short-term and long-term intensive outpatient treatment programming.

Drug Screens

Participants are drug and alcohol tested randomly at the Court’s or treatment program’s discretion throughout the entire Juvenile Drug Court program. All urine sample collections are observed by the collecting team member or contracted agent. If a test is missed, the urine sample tampered with, or if a participant is unable to void, it will count as a positive test

Program phases determine the frequency of drug and alcohol testing. The use of any prescription mediations must be reported to the JDC probation officer and approved by the drug court team. The cost of challenging a positive test with additional lab testing will be at the expense of the youth and her or his family if the positive result is confirmed

Positive tests will result in sanctions.

Phases of the Program

The Washtenaw County JDC program is a four-phase, 9 to 18 month program. The frequency of court hearings, probation contacts, treatment sessions (group and individual), drug testing, and other program requirements is in large part determined by the phase in which a participant is in. These program requirements generally decrease as participants progress through the phases, but can be increased if necessary to meet the individual needs of youth.

Successful Graduation from the Program

In order to successfully complete the Juvenile Drug Court program and be dismissed from the jurisdiction of the Court participants are required to pass all phases of the program and remain drug and alcohol free for at least 12 consecutive weeks (90 days). Additionally, all restitution, court costs, community service or other probationary orders must be fulfilled.

Graduation from the Juvenile Drug Court program is recognized as a very important event. Friends and loved ones will be invited to join graduates at a special ceremony as the Drug Court team congratulates youth and their families for successfully completing the program and achieving their goal to establish a drug-free life.