Treatment Courts News Archive

“I feel called to advocate for the dignity and health of individuals, families, and communities.” Alejandra Garcia works to build strong communities, fulfilling a lifelong goal of transforming the criminal justice system. As a senior program manager with the Center for Court Innovation’s treatment courts team, Alejandra partners with local and national justice system practitioners to improve their drug treatment courts, develop statewide plans to address substance use, and implement opioid courts.

"The focus right now appears to be on safety and not just strict compliance monitoring,” says David Lucas, a clinical adviser at the Center for Court Innovation, on how drug courts across the country are responding to COVID-19.

An interview profile of Sarah Reckess, the director of our Upstate New York office: "We try to knock down silos, to challenge agencies and community leaders to think in new ways...to not be afraid of failure."

The Brooklyn Mental Health Court celebrated its groundbreaking approach to working with defendants with serious mental illnesses.

The Crime Report spotlights two new Center for Court Innovation publications that highlight the work of opioid treatment courts, which offer critical tools to address the opioid epidemic.

Writing in USA Today, former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman argues that incarceration isn't appropriate for everyone, including some violent offenders, and he cites our Brooklyn Mental Health Court as a model alternative.

In her State of Our Judiciary address, New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore says the model for the Bronx's new opioid court—offering treatment and services through our Bronx Community Solutions in lieu of a guilty plea and incarceration—will be expanded across New York City.

An introduction to the Bronx's new opioid treatment court, the first of its kind in New York City. Our Bronx Community Solutions program is a partner to the effort.

A profile of our Brooklyn Mental Health Court and its emphasis on procedural justice, and a consideration of the different models for diverting mentally ill defendants from jail.

The Urban Institute, the Center for Court Innovation, and RTI International were selected by the National Institute of Justice to conduct the Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation, one of the most ambitious evaluations of drug courts ever performed.