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Program History
 
North Carolina
  • Enabling legislation passed in 1995.
  • First five pilot courts established in 1996.
  • 1998 NC General Assembly permanently established DTCs.
  • 2002 DTCs implemented in 13 Judicial Districts with 16 Adult, 2 Family, and 5 Juvenile DTCs operational.
  • By February 2004, there were 22 local DTCs operating in 13 judicial districts, two DTCs that have met the State DTC requirements for implementation and are authorized to operate without the support of state funds, and 6 DTCs in the planning process.
  • 2005, 29 treatment courts operating in 16 judicial districts (3B, 5, 6A, 8, 9A, 10, 12, 14, 15B, 18, 19B, 19C, 21, 25, 26 and 28). Additionally, one more district (24) plans to begin operations by December, 2005.
Nationally
  • In 1994, 12 organized drug treatment courts founded National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
  • In 2003, there were 1,183 drug treatment courts in operation, 414 actively involved in the planning process, and another 184 accepted into the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice formal drug court planning training series for 2004
  • As of December 31, 2004, there were 1,621 drug court operations in the United States with 215 jurisdictional teams formally planning a drug court and another 263 jurisdictions submitted applications to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice in response to the 2005 Drug Court Discretionary Grant solicitation.
Today
  • DTC in all 50 states plus District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.
  • 70,000 drug court clients are being served at any given time throughout the United States and its territories.
  • 16,200 participants graduated from drug court in 2004.
  • 460 drug-free babies were reported to have been born to active female drug court clients.
  • Nationally, DTCs report retention rates between 67-71%.
  • In February, 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported lower rearrest and conviction rates for drug court participants than comparison group members and a positive cost/benefit/ratio for the drug court participants.
 
  
 
   
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