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Juvenile drug courts are increasing in the United States, as a result of increasing availability of external funding, raising the question of what constitutes a "serious" juvenile drug user. Nearly half of all adolescents in the United States will try some form of illegal drug before they reach 18 years of age. However, the majority of these drug users are able to control their behavior and go on to lead productive lives (Church II, Wesley, 2006, 89)."
The drug courts take the adolescents and children out of a system that could ostensibly lead to more serious crimes, and supervises their individual case loads and success. Social workers and therapists from the drug programs that work with the children make regular appearances before the court, updating the judges on the individual progress of the kids. It is difficult to predict the exact number of kids who have been turned away from a life of more serious crimes through their successful pre-incarceration therapy, but researchers cite as positive a reduction in the number of the children and adolescents involved in drug related crimes (Church II, 89).
While not every one is the same, juvenile drug courts across the United States share several key components that have led to their overwhelming success. (33) the first component is its use of a non-adversarial approach to integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with the justice system's traditional case proceedings. (34) This involves the use of alcohol and drug treatment clinicians in almost every phase of the drug court's proceedings in order to help the juveniles confront and eventually to overcome their addiction and abuse problems. (35) the next crucial step in almost all drug courts is to identify potential participants who may be eligible for the drug court program and quickly place them into the program's treatment process. (36) Due to the individualized treatment of each drug court participant, quick placement of an eligible juvenile helps that youth receive necessary treatment as soon as possible. Juvenile drug courts often receive many applicants because the participation and completion of the drug court program often lead to a complete dismissal of all charges brought against...
(37) Due to this appealing potential outcome, juvenile drug courts must be carefully selective when choosing who participates in the program, especially in light of the very finite resources that many drug court programs are forced to deal with (Harvey III, David L, 2004, 177)."
The drug courts have served to keep families together, and to keep the most vulnerable segments of our society out of the penal system. The opportunity for second chances in facing and dealing addiction by way of court supervised participation has proven itself to be what many women, children, and adolescents needed to provide structure and guidance in their lives.
References
http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5008140579
Armstrong, a. (2003). Drug Courts and the De Facto Legalization of Drug Use for Participants in Residential Treatment Facilities. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 94(1), 133+. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5008140579 http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5014292351
Church, W.T. (2006). Juvenile Drug Courts and Teen Substance Abuse. Social Work, 51(1), 89. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5014292351 http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5015865810
Harvey, D.L. (2004). Theories of Therapeutic Evolution for Juvenile Drug Courts in the Face of the Onset of the Co-occurrence of Mental Health Issues and Substance/alcohol Abuse. Journal of Law and Health, 19(1), 177+. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5015865810 http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000676855
Schwebel, R. (2002). Drug Courts and Adolescents. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 11(3), 176+. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000676855 http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000794018
What Does the Future Hold for Drug Courts?. (2002). Fordham Urban Law Journal, 29(5), 1858+. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000794018
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