Press Release  Drug Court Enhancement Program success is demonstrated through participants’ progress

Boston — The Massachusetts Drug Courts and the Community Corrections Centers (CCC) have successfully collaborated to create a Drug Court enhancement project, formally referred to as “Integrating Drug Courts: Access to Community Corrections.” This initiative offers Drug Court participants vital resources—both in their communities and outside the court jurisdiction— to assist them in their recovery and helps reduce recidivism among this high-risk group of probationers. The program is being funded by a three-year $1.2 million US Bureau of Justice Assistance grant.

As part of the Drug Court Enhancement project, 53 Drug Court participants at the Brockton, Hingham, and Taunton Drug Courts have attended the centers where they receive risk/need assessments, treatment planning, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address substance use disorder and other issues related to criminal conduct. Because transportation is a large expense for many of the participants, the project has provided more than 300 trips for participants to court and other approved appointments using Charlie Cards— a card used to ride public trains and buses in the Boston area—as well as private transportation companies.
The project has the capacity to serve 60 individuals, according to Office of Community Corrections Director Vincent Lorenti who anticipates that the program will reach full capacity this fall.

“Thanks to the Drug Court Enhancement project, our participants are able to receive treatment at programs outside of the immediate geographic area of this court.  The ability to transport individuals to and from treatment programs and therapeutic communities on Cape Cod, MetroWest, or the North Shore has multiplied the number of beds available to our drug court participants.  Additionally, it has allowed us to tailor treatment plans more individually.  The CBT, MRT, job training, and other services available through OCC have immensely helped our Drug Court.  We all know that there are many paths out of the darkness of addiction, and this collaboration with OCC has lighted more paths to recovery for our Drug Court participants,” said Brockton District Court Judge Michael A. Vitali.

Probation Commissioner Edward J. Dolan stated, “This collaboration between the Drug Courts and community corrections centers both enhances the quality of services offered to Drug Court participants and makes those services more accessible. Transportation is now available to make getting to the centers easier. Through this initiative, we are offering participants the tools to help them in their recovery which studies demonstrate will lead to increased support for recovery and a reduction in recidivism.”

One former Drug Court participant said the program and the resources offered assisted her in her recovery.

Brockton Drug Court graduate Lisa Buonassisi stated, “Because of the transportation provided, I was able to get to and from court. Had these services not been available to me I would not have been so successful. It was a huge part of my success in not having to worry about how I would get to and from court weekly. The services provided and the help being readily available made such a positive impact in my life.  Knowing that there were resources available to me at the center if I needed extra help was a tremendous support and extremely beneficial to my recovery.”  

In the third year of the project, the centers will expand hours of operations  two nights a week and on Saturdays in order to increase accessibility to structured services for Drug Court participants, who work, attend school or have other commitments during the day, according to Lorenti.

“An important part of the project is to ensure that the centers enhance Drug Courts by delivering high-quality programming,” he said. “A Fidelity monitor from the Trial Court’s Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts, staffed by the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, checks for adherence to Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) such as Risk/Need and Responsivity.”

He added, “The Center for Excellence is responsible for ensuring that Risk/Need assessments are done correctly, treatment interventions are matched to the needs identified in the assessment, and that interventions, specifically CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) are undertaken consistent with a manual.”
The Center for Excellence is an initiative of the Trial Court and the medical school to develop best practices for specialty courts to address mental health, substance use, and trauma with the ultimate goal of reducing recidivism and positively impacting public safety.

Lorenti pointed out that the centers incorporate criminal justice approaches that have been proven effective.

“As recently as December 2017, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, published a Benefit-Cost Analysis stating that intensive supervision that combines surveillance and treatment has a 100 percent probability of producing benefits greater than cost. The centers combines these two approaches so their collaboration with the Drug Courts, which are also shown to be effective, is a natural way to enhance Drug Courts and get great outcomes for probationers and our communities.”

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