Drug Courts – The annual cost of drug court is $5,000 compared to $19,000 for incarceration. That alone is a significant benefit. But, what really tells the story are the improved outcomes. Drug Court graduates are much less likely to become incarcerated compared to released inmates. Measured program outcomes include 94.5 percent drop in unemployment, a 119.3 percent jump in monthly income, a 110.4 percent increase in participants with private health insurance and better than 85 percent of graduates are able to again live with their children. A tracking study of over 4,000 graduates monitored for a five year period demonstrated earnings of better than $204 million that resulted in an estimated $6.1 million in tax revenue paid to the state. Had these graduates been incarcerated, instead of in drug court, it would have cost the state an additional $191.6 million (average sentence of three years each). There are approximately 4,000 drug court slots statewide. For more information on Drug Courts, please contact Sai'Queenau Reese at saiqueenau.reese@odmhsas.org.
Mental Health Courts – The outcomes for mental health courts, like drug courts, are impressive. Graduates of mental health courts are over 7 times less likely to become incarcerated compared to released inmates, and over 13 times less likely to be incarcerated than released inmates who have been diagnosed as having a serious mental illness. Program graduates have seen a 42 percent drop in unemployment, a 90 percent decrease in arrests and an 70 percent decrease in the number of days spent in jail. Graduates of the program also show a 71 percent decrease in the number of needed inpatient hospital days. There are currently mental health courts in 29 Oklahoma counties with an additional 4 counties having requested services. Appropriated state funding currently allows for approximately 700 mental health court slots statewide. For more information on Mental Health Courts, please contact Sai'Queenau Reese at saiqueenau.reese@odmhsas.org.
Family Treatment Courts – A family treatment court (FTC) is a juvenile deprived court docket for cases of child maltreatment in which parental substance use is a contributing factor. FTC offers a promising approach for courts, providing insight into better ways of engaging families who struggle with substance use issues and have had their child(ren) placed in custody of Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services (DHS). The FTC uses a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to address the multi-faceted needs of families. These court dockets bring together substance use and mental health treatment agencies, child welfare services, court personnel, and other community partners in a non-adversarial approach to coordinate services, to help families improve their well-being and increase safety and permanency for children, help parents or caregivers achieve stable recovery, and ensure each family member receives the services and supports needed. This is accomplished though more frequent hearings, intensive judicial monitoring, and interventions to treat parents’ or caregivers’ substance use disorders and other co-occurring risk factors. Collaboration is the core of family treatment courts. As of November 2023 there are currently nine FTCs operating in 12 counties in Oklahoma, with plans to expand further across the state. Positive outcomes show that parents involved in the FTC entered substance use treatment quicker, stayed in treatment longer, and completed more treatment episodes. Furthermore, children involved in the FTC spent less time in foster care and were more likely to reunify compared to children not in FTC. The most recent data from the FTCs across Oklahoma indicated that children in FTC experienced a 125 percent reduction in out-of-home placement days and a 58 percent reduction in unemployment. Additionally, this approach meant that 61 infants did not test positive for substances at birth. For more information on Family Treatment Courts, please contact the Family Treatment Court Team.
Misdemeanor Diversion Programs – Misdemeanor diversion programs partner criminal justice accountability with evidence-based substance abuse and mental health treatment services to decrease future involvement with the criminal justice system. Misdemeanor diversion general operates within two models:
- Misdemeanor Treatment Courts - These are highly structured programs include, but are not limited to, regular court appearances, case management, supervision, random drug screens, group and individual therapy by certified treatment agencies.
- Deferred Adjudication Treatment Programs - These programs provide diversion strategies, such as deferred prosecution agreements, as the legal mechanism for participation. The participant receives individualized treatment services provided by certified treatment agencies without the supervision of the court. Treatment providers report to the DA when a participant is non-compliant with services. There are currently 7 counties operating misdemeanor diversion programs, with an additional 9 in planning stages.
For more information on Misdemeanor Diversion Programs, please contact SaiQueenau Reese at saiqueenau.reese@odmhsas.org.
Zone4Vets – Services for veterans are provided by ODMHSAS through the Zone4Vets initiative. Zone4Vets is a special distinction that criminal justice programs, such as treatment courts, can earn by meeting a set of research-supported criteria for operational standards and policies. Programs receiving the Zone4Vets distinction have enhanced collaboration with community veteran resources, receive specialized training, and follow practices to quickly identify justice-involved veterans in the criminal justice system. Several programs across the state have received Zone4Vets honors and are providing exceptional care to veterans in their communities. For more information about Zone4Vets, please contact SaiQueenau Reese at saiqueenau.reese@odmhsas.org.
Juvenile Diversion – Partnership with Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) exists throughout the state. For example, ODMHSAS operates 7 juvenile diversion treatment programs providing OJA supervision, court oversight and community-based treatment services to decrease the likelihood of future involvement in the criminal justice system.
