Adult Drug Courts

Key Components of Adult Drug Courts

As developed by All Rise (formerly the National Association of Drug Court Professionals) and published in the report Defining Drug Courts: The Key Components, the ten key components of an adult drug court are:

• Integration of alcohol and other drug treatment services into justice system case processing
• Non-adversarial approach
• Early identification of eligible participants
• Continuum of services
• Alcohol and drug testing for abstinence
• Coordinated strategy for responses to participants’ compliance
• Ongoing judicial interaction
• Monitoring and evaluation for program effectiveness
• Interdisciplinary education
• Partnerships with stakeholders

Statewide Evaluation

In 2009, the Florida Supreme Court, Office of the State Courts Administrator received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance for a statewide evaluation of Florida adult felony drug courts. This report, produced in December 2013, provides details about the statewide impact evaluation and summarizes the results of the process, outcome, and cost evaluation reports.

Florida Adult Felony Drug Courts Evaluation Report, Evaluation Report Findings in Brief, and Evaluation Report Summary Points 

Adult Post-Adjudicatory Prison Diversion Drug Courts

Adult post-adjudicatory prison diversion drug courts address underlying substance use disorders for prison-bound offenders in an effort to reduce crime and restore lives and families.

In 2009, the Florida Legislature appropriated Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant stimulus funding to the Office of the State Courts Administrator to expand adult post-adjudicatory drug courts to target and divert offenders from prison. When the grant expired on June 30, 2013, the state began funding these courts with recurring dollars. The ten state-funded adult post-adjudicatory prison diversion drug court sites are located in Broward, Escambia, Hillsborough, Marion, Okaloosa, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia counties.

Florida’s adult post-adjudicatory prison diversion drug courts received a Prudential Productivity Award in 2018. These courts operate based on the national drug court model and save the state millions in avoided prison costs by identifying and diverting eligible felony offenders with diagnosed substance use disorders into drug court. While in the program, participants are provided access to community-based treatment services designed to break the cycle of addiction and incarceration. Participants are also provided access to ancillary services, like mental health treatment and housing assistance, that ultimately allow individuals to once again become productive members of their community. The OSCA conducted a cost-savings analysis of all state-funded adult post-adjudicatory prison diversion drug courts over a three-year period and found that, among other benefits, participation in these courts resulted in a savings of more than $3.8 million when compared to the costs of serving time in prison.