Agenda & Handouts: Training Track Descriptions

TRACK 1

Ready, Set, Go!

Implementation of Your Drug Court Every day public health and public safety partnerships are formed to develop drug courts. Many communities already have one type of drug court and now want to venture into another part of the drug court arena; others are implementing a drug court for the first time. If this describes your community, this is the track for you. It will address the considerations and partnerships that must be made in the early stages of planning and implementing a new adult, juvenile, or family dependency treatment drug court. It will also provide the scientific principles and best practices to ensure that your new drug court is built on a solid foundation to ensure success and sustainability.

TRACK 2

Raising the Bar: Taking Family Dependency Treatment Courts to the Next Level

Family Dependency Treatment Courts, also called Family Drug Courts, focus on child welfare cases that involve an allegation of child abuse or neglect related to substance abuse using the drug court model. As a result, there is better collaboration between agencies and better compliance with treatment resulting in improved outcomes for the children in these cases. Learn from professionals in this field on what is working for them, as well as what steps must be taken to get to the next level.

TRACK 3

Raising the Bar: Taking Juvenile Drug Courts to the Next Level

Juvenile drug courts are a critical part of every juvenile justice system. They provide a unique partnership that is focused on the future of our communities. These courts have issues unique to the population they serve. What is the best way to engage juveniles and their families? What is considered developmentally appropriate, gender-specific, culturally relevant, and evidence-based treatment? What roles do schools and the faith community play? Whether your juvenile drug court has been in operation for one year or more, this track is for you. Learn from fellow practitioners as well as subject matter experts about the latest research and effective approaches to dealing with adolescent populations.

TRACK 4

The Power of Evidence-Based Treatment

This track debunks the myths of treatment and provides you with an insider’s view of what works and what does not work when treating substance abuse and mental health issues. Do you ever wonder what the research really means or why certain approaches do not work? Then this track is for you! This track will highlight the innovative, evidence-based treatment approaches that are available to the treatment community.

TRACK 5

Cultural Competency: More Than Awareness

Culture is everywhere around us. It is how we dress, what we choose to eat, and what music we enjoy. It shapes our past, present, and future. It is essential to recognize and understand the culture of our drug court participants in order to shape their future. It follows that we will enhance our effectiveness by becoming culturally competent. It is so simple to see, but so challenging to implement. This track will not only focus on the “seeing,” but also provide the latest in practice and research on the “implementation.”

TRACK 6

The Facts and Nothing but the Facts: Research to Practice

Do not let your drug court suffer because you do not understand how to use evaluations to your advantage. Increasingly, researchers are learning more about what works in a drug court and why. Fostering partnership with practitioners and researchers is critical toward improving drug court outcomes. This expands empirical information about the long-term impact of drug courts on recidivism, drug use, employment, and other social factors. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn how to improve your program measurement and outcomes.

TRACK 7

Keeping Ahead of the Curve: Knowing the Universe of Drugs

Drug court participants are very sophisticated consumers of their drug of choice. They select from a myriad of drugs whose effects are widely varied. Although it is critical for treatment providers to understand the effects of these drugs, all drug court professionals need to be trained in their impact on supervision, case management, drug testing and treatment planning. Learn the latest in pharmacology, treatment approaches, and research findings to enhance programming and improve partnerships in your community.

TRACK 8

The Good, The Bad, and The Effective: Re-visiting Incentives and Sanctions

Incentives and sanctions are essential to every drug court. When properly used, they are a powerful tool for improving client behavior and outcomes. Drug courts achieve better outcomes when practitioners understand the science behind behavior management. The research is clear; managing participant behavior includes the development of graduated and individualized motivational strategies as well as consequences to hold participants accountable for failing to meet programmatic goals. Incentives and sanctions imposed in the courtroom have an impact not only on the individual appearing before the judge, but also on the other drug court members present. Participants will leave these sessions not only with an increased understanding of the science, but also better equipped to develop an incentives and sanctions plan that will yield better results.

TRACK 9

Law Enforcement: Striking the Balance

Law enforcement and community supervision partnerships are critical to any successful drug court. This track focuses on the importance of strengthening relationships with law enforcement and community supervision and assists officers in better understanding their role in the drug court arena. The track will feature courts with strong linkages to law enforcement and community supervision personnel.

TRACK 10

DWI Courts

We are seeing significant increases in the number of jurisdictions that have implemented a DWI court or added DWI offenders to their drug court. If your court is considering adding DWI defendants or starting a DWI court, then this track is for you. The success of the drug court model in other settings has led many court systems to consider this often difficult and challenging population. Participants in this track will gain an increased understanding of the principles specific to DWI as well as how to modify their current operations to include this population.

TRACK 11

Legal and Ethical Issues in Problem- Solving Courts

Protecting the due process rights of the participants in drug court is a foundation of drug courts. Practitioners in problem-solving courts are often faced with situations unique to the problem-solving court arena. This session is designed to provide some of the questions practitioners should ask, while also providing the answers to many of those difficult questions. Whether you are a new problem-solving court professional, or you’ve been with drug courts for many years, this track includes sessions on the cutting edge of what every drug court and other problem-solving court practitioner should know.

TRACK 12 AND 13

Science and Technology: Our Partners in the Commercial Sector

Private enterprise offers many necessary tools for drug court operations. From unique methods assisting with community supervision to a variety of drug testing options, from research-proven ways to use medically-assisted treatment to successful treatment techniques, our partners in the private sector are a critical asset to drug courts’ success. These sessions apprise practitioners of new developments in science and technology and provide a perspective on the concerns that every drug court should have in selecting the right tools of the trade. Although the information presented represents the viewpoint of presenters and do not intend to be viewed as NADCP’s endorsement of any particular product, these tracks will provide the practitioner with a wealth of information in order to become a wise consumer of products and services intended for the drug court field.

TRACK 14

Problem Solving Courts? Not a Problem!

As the number of drug courts increases in the United States and abroad, practitioners are seeing individuals who are not only drug addicted, but who also suffer from a host of other problems. As a result, the drug court model is being adapted to enhance and address the complex needs of various special populations. This track offers a look into a variety of innovative problem-solving courts from around the nation.

TRACK 15

Advanced Treatment Issues

One size definitely does not fit all. As in many things, this is so true in effective drug and alcohol treatment. This track identifies a variety of treatment methods, along with insight into some specific and complex issues with which many drug court clients struggle.

TRACK 16

Innovations in Problem-Solving Courts

Since the inception of the drug court program in Miami-Dade County, Florida, drug courts have spread to every state and territory in the United States and several countries. Other successful problem-solving courts have also been implemented, some using the drug court model. This track offers the problem-solving court practitioner a look into some of the most unique and watched problem-solving courts throughout the nation.

TRACK 17

Mining the Mysteries of Meth

Whatever you call it—crystal, ice, bikers’ coffee— methamphetamine is possibly the fastest growing drug of choice among those entering drug court today. For drug court professionals, methamphetamine represents a unique and daunting challenge requiring innovative new approaches and partnerships. This track will provide strategies for increasing the effectiveness of law enforcement and community supervision efforts, information on the pharmacology of methamphetamine and effective treatment protocols for responding to drug endangered children, and approaches for community-wide interventions. Whether you have witnessed a meth explosion in your community for the last twenty years or just for the first time, this session will provide you with the latest in practice, policy, and science to ensure that you have the tools and knowledge needed to effectively intervene with methamphetamine users.

TRACK 18

Working with the Latino Community: Meeting the Challenge

Drug courts reflect the communities in which they are located. Addressing the needs of the Latino population goes well beyond dealing with communication barriers. Culture, residency status, and employability are among the many factors that present drug court practitioners an extra challenge when working with these clients. This track is designed to help practitioners working with the Latino community meet that challenge.

TRACK 19

Legal Issues in and beyond Problem- Solving Courts

For attorneys practicing in problem-solving courts, the legal issues are multi-faceted. The sessions in this track focus on topics of interest within problem-solving courts, but also stretch far beyond the problem-solving court arena. From judicial immunity to sentencing reform, from issues involving criminal defense to firearms possession, these sessions are designed to answer some of the most complex questions for the attorneys and judges in problem-solving courts.

TRACK 20

Learning from Native Traditions: Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts

Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts are profound expressions of sovereign, self-determining nations. Such courts have become an important part of a long, often perilous, and amazing Nation rebuilding process that began for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities after centuries of war, oppression, and resistance. Consequently, the impact of a tribal drug court is complex and multi-faceted affecting multigenerational attitudes and perceptions about alcohol and other drugs, addressing historical trauma and unresolved grief, acting as a tool to restore tribal values, expanding tribal justice systems, improving state-tribal and federal-tribal relationships, and restoring individuals to their rightful place as contributing members to the tribal community. Sessions in the tribal track will convey the complexities and nuances of Tribal Healing/Wellness Courts and contain useful information for both state and tribal practitioners.

TRACK 21

International Drug Treatment Court Movement: Getting a Boost

After years of neglect by international drug control organizations, the drug treatment court approach has finally been fully endorsed by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the World Health Organization (WHO). This will make it easier for countries intending to or in the process of establishing drug treatment courts to get them acknowledged as part of the strategic framework for treatment within national drug control policies. Drug treatment court pioneers from around the world will share the very latest progress which includes the International Association of Drug Treatment Courts’ (IADTC) mission, vision and belief statements as well as its international agenda for the years to come.

TRACK 22

Problem-Solving Courts in California

As part of the partnership between the California Association of Drug Court Professionals, the California Administrative Office of the Courts, and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, this track concentrates on issues specific to the drug court and other problem-solving court practitioner from California. From drug courts to reentry courts to mental health courts, California has been a leader in the field of problem-solving justice. Come learn from experts across the state on best practices!

TRACK 23

African American Clients: Improving Services and Outcomes

This track is a necessity for problem-solving practitioners looking to improve outcomes with African American clients. Experts from around the nation address best practices, cultural competency, treatment approaches and more.