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Where am I now? Lawlink > Drug Court of New South Wales > Policies and Practices > Policy 7: Program Goals and Measures
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Policy 7: Program Goals and Measures
Last Reviewed May 2006
1. Purposes of Policy
1.1 To further define the content of Drug Court programs, the goals to be achieved, and the measurement of the achievement of those goals.
2. Definitions
| Act | means the Drug Court Act 1998. |
| Case manager | means a Community Offender Service officer assigned to a participant. |
| Case management plan | means a plan for supervision of a participant by the Community Offender Service. |
| Drug Court | means the Drug Court of N.S.W. |
| Drug Court program | means the conditions accepted by the participant and imposed by the Court under section 7(3)(a) of the Act. |
| Drug Court team | Means Drug Court judge, the Registrar, the Legal Aid Commission (LAC) solicitor, the solicitor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Police Prosecutor, the Community Offender Service (COS) coordinator and the Clinical Nurse Consultant who are attached to the Drug Court, and/or the alternate for each. |
| COS | means the Community Offender Service. |
| Participant | means a “drug offender” as defined in the Drug Court Act 1998. |
| Treatment plan | means a plan for therapeutic intervention to address a participant’s drug dependency and related health needs. |
| Treatment provider | means a participant’s principal ongoing treatment provider. |
3. Policy
3.1 The content of a Drug Court program
3.1.1 The objectives of the Drug Court are set out in section 3 of the Act, and the definition of a Drug Court program is included within section 4 of the Act.
3.1.2 The conditions that can be included in a Drug Court program are defined in section 7(3B). The conditions for each participant are set out in the general program undertaking and the participant’s treatment and case management plan.
3.1.3 To commence a Drug Court program, a participant will be required to sign an undertaking to accept and comply with all the conditions of the general program and their individual treatment and case management plan. The participant will be provided with a copy of each document.
3.1.4 The treatment and case management plan may be modified progressively throughout the program.
3.2 The focus of a Drug Court program
3.2.1 So as to promote re-integration into the community, the program will focus on:
- Housing and income stability
- Health and well being - diagnosis & treatment
- Behaviour modification and living skills appropriate to the ability of the individual
- Education and readiness for employment where possible
- Employment, where possible
- Relationships and child-care responsibilities
- Legal obligations and responsibilities – paying bills, child support and any fines.
3.3 Program phases
3.3.1 Each program will consist of three phases.
3.3.2 The minimum expected duration of each phase is:
Phase 1 - three months
Phase 2 - three months
Phase 3 - six months
3.3.3 The Drug Court team will review each participant’s progress at a review meeting in the month before progression to the next phase is expected.
3.3.4 If a participant has not progressed to the next phase within three months of the earliest possible date, the Court may consider the likelihood of further progress in accordance with Completion or Termination Policy #6.
3.4 Phase 1 –Engagement And Stabilisation
3.4.1 The principal goals of Phase 1 are:
- To reduce drug use 1
- To stabilise physical and mental health
- To commence treatment for drug dependency
- To cease criminal activity
- To identify needs and goals for treatment and reintegration.
3.4.2 To progress from Phase 1 to Phase 2 a participant should have:
- demonstrated a willingness to commence and participate in a treatment program
- developed a case management plan (in consultation with the Community Offender Service case manager and treatment provider)
- demonstrated a willingness to accept supervision under the case management plan
- become established as a regular patient of a general practitioner
- be compliant with any psychiatric treatment and medication
- complete group counselling programs (day or transition programs)
- demonstrated a reduction in drug taking
- promptly and honestly admitted any drug use
- submitted to three drug tests per week
- attended Court at least once per week
- regularly and punctually attended appointments
- committed no offences, or committed no further offences after a termination hearing.
3.5 Phase 2 – Consolidation
3.5.1 The principal goals of Phase 2 are:
- To remain drug free for significant periods
- To remain crime free
- To stabilise social and domestic environment
- To develop life skills
- To address any major life issues
- To maintain good health
3.5.2 To progress from Phase 2 to Phase 3 a participant should have:
- continued to fully participate in a treatment program
- actively worked towards achieving goals established in the case management plan and worked with the case manager and treatment provider to update that plan
- continued to accept supervision under the case management plan
- submitted to two drug tests per week, as directed
- promptly and honestly admitted any drug use
- demonstrated a reduction in drug taking with significant periods of abstinence
- ceased any criminal activity or committed no offences after a termination hearing
- attended Court at least once per fortnight
- regularly and punctually attended appointments with the Court, counsellor, case manager and kept other program commitments
- Completed Pathways to Employment Education and Training (PEET) (if not working or studying)
3.6 Phase 3 - Re-integration
3.6.1 The principal goals of Phase 3 are:
- To remain drug free and accept a drug free lifestyle
- To remain crime free and accept a crime free lifestyle
- To stabilise social and domestic environment, including establishing stable accommodation
- To gain employment or be employment ready, or
- be engaged in full time child care, or
- be involved in education, training or other worthwhile activity which could lead to employment.
- Be financially responsible
3.6.2 During this phase a participant will be expected to maintain the standards achieved in Phase 2, and to achieve the standards set for completion of the program.
3.6.3 The Court will identify participants who are likely to complete a Drug Court program two months before completion is due. Those participants will be required to demonstrate their readiness to complete the program by an enhanced drug-testing regime for a period of 4 weeks prior to completion.
3.7 Completion
3.7.1 To complete a program a participant will have achieved the following standards:
- Time in treatment: The participant should have been active in treatment for at least 12 months. It is not expected that treatment would have been completed when the program is completed. Like their addiction, it may continue throughout their lifetime.
- Progress in program: The participant should have progressed into Phase 3 (see 3.6 above), and have maintained the standards set for progression to that stage.
- Engagement in treatment: The participant should have demonstrated a willingness to identify and deal with any significant life issues in counselling.
- Reintegration: The participant should have achieved the re-integration goals that have been set and reviewed during the program.
- Reduction in drug use: For at least three months there should have been no drug use, or, in the event of a lapse, the participant should have demonstrated the ability to re-engage in appropriate treatment.
- Reduction in offending: Within the past six months, the participant should not have been charged with any offence alleged to have occurred in the last six months.
3.8 Substantial compliance
3.8.1 To have substantially complied with a program, a participant should have achieved the following minimum standards:
- Time in treatment: The participant should have been on program for at least 12 months and at least 9 months of that time actively in treatment.
- Progress in program: The participant should have achieved and maintained the standard set for Phase 2 (see 3.6 above).
- Engagement in treatment: The participant should have engaged in treatment, and identified significant life issues.
- Reintegration. Substantial compliance for most participants would mean:
- securing and maintaining housing
- securing and retaining income
- accessing medical treatment
- stabilising relationships
- completion of outstanding court orders such as a Community Sentence Order, Periodic Detention or Home Detention order.
For many it would also involve commencement in education or employment, reducing fines or securing a driver’s licence.
- Reduction in drug use: Drug use would have reduced, with significant periods of abstinence, and a demonstration of having learned skills to deal with relapse.
- Reduction in offending: Within the past six months, the participant should not have been charged with any offence alleged to have occurred in the last six months, and for which a term of imprisonment could be imposed.
1To measure any reduction in drug use, the Drug Court team will look to the level of admitted use, the urinalysis results, and other dependency criteria, such as:
- Does the participant continue to spend a lot of time on activities necessary to get drugs, using drugs or recovering from their use?
- Is the participant too sick for court, too sick for drug tests, too sick for appointments?
- Does the participant continue to use in detriment to his or her physical and mental health?
- Does the participant give up important social, work or leisure activities because of their drug use?
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