The Ingham County, 55^th District SOBRIETY Court Program is modeled after drug treatment courts across the United States. It follows the ten key components of Sobriety courts as established by the Department of Justice. The objective of this SOBRIETY Court is to see a reduction in recidivism for repeat offender Drunk Drivers offenders who have significant alcohol and other drug addictions, thus enhancing public safety in our community. This SOBRIETY Court began in January > 2004 with grant monies from Edward Byrne Memorial Fund as well as 25% matching funds from the State Court Administrator= s Office.

The 55^th District SOBRIETY Court will be in session each Thursday afternoon. The Sobriety Court Staff will consist of the Judge, Defense Attorney, Assistant Prosecutor, SOBRIETY Court Probation Officer, Sobriety Court Coordinator, Substance abuse assessor and counseling representatives who will meet prior to each court review hearing.

The majority of SOBRIETY Court participants will be OUIL 2^nd/ OWI 2^nd / IMPAIRED 2nd offenders. Other participants will be admitted, as space allows, keeping in mind that they must meet the criteria for significant alcohol/drug problems, and not have a history of violent crime.

The foundation of a successful SOBRIETY Court lies within the philosophy that while holding the participant accountable for his or her actions, the court also supports the participant overcoming his or her addiction and remaining abstinent from alcohol and other drugs. This will ultimately assure increased public safety through reduced recidivism. All of this is achieved through a supportive, non-adversarial judicial environment. Incentives are enveloped in our program to encourage progression through each phase. Sanctions are also used and shall be immediate and consistent on a graduated basis, including incarceration.

The 55^th District SOBRIETY Court Program length will be a minimum of 48 weeks. Please note that this is a minimum and one would only expect to graduate after 48 weeks if he/she has adhered to the program quickly and remained abstinent from alcohol and other drugs through this time frame, complying with all conditions. If problems adjusting to the program are encountered, it will take longer than 48 weeks to complete the program.

The program encompasses four phases, each which is a minimum of 12 weeks in duration .Participants will be required to meet with the Sobriety Court Judge on a bi-weekly basis during Phase I , once monthly during Phase II, twice during Phase III. Finally, they will meet with the Judge once prior to their Graduation during Phase IV. During all phases, the participant will meet frequently at scheduled and unscheduled times with their Probation Officer.

Following successful completion and graduation from the SOBRIETY Court program, participants will remain on a non-reporting probation status from three to twelve months.

The mission of the Ingham County 55^th District Sobriety Sobriety Court is to enhance public safety by requiring personal accountability of alcohol and drug dependent offenders. This mission is accomplished by providing holistic treatment services with intensive judicial supervision. The approach is community based and team driven. The program supports participants in becoming law-abiding, productive, alcohol and drug free citizens.

Treatment is a critical factor in reducing recidivism among substance abuse offenders. The streamlining of court procedures by A fast-tracking@ cases and increased access to treatment will reduce the number of cases being set for trial as well as reducing the time between the date of offense ~ sentencing ~ and initiation of treatment. These cases will be processed and a plea taken within 30 days of offense.

Offenders will be placed in PHASE I after a thorough substance abuse assessment is completed. This will be conducted between plea and sentencing. From that, a treatment plan will be laid-out as to his/her needed level of treatment (relapse recovery, Intensive Outpatient, residential, etc.) and incorporated into his/her treatment plan and Sobriety Court contract. Treatment providers will update the court on a weekly basis regarding offender= s progress.

All team members will work together toward the common goals of reducing recidivism and rehabilitating offenders. A team approach will be utilized to ensure the participant receives prompt treatment for his/her addiction while the defense counsel will be primarily charged with ensuring the protection of his/her due process rights. No plea will be taken from an offender unless he/she has met with either their own hired counsel, or court-appointed counsel, who will be knowledgeable of the Sobriety Court and it= s benefits.

This program will be a post conviction, probationary status program , therefore ensuring that there is a formal adjudication of the matter.

All defendants coming before the court with a 2nd or subsequent arrest for drunk driving will initially be eligible. This will target offenders who might have otherwise been looking up to one year in the county jail. At most, 40 offenders will be in PHASE I or II, at any given time.

All OUIL arraignments should take place within 14 days of arrest/offense. The pre-trial hearing will be set within 14 days of arraignment. If the defendant has not retained an attorney, a court-appointed attorney, knowledgeable in sobriety court, will be present to advise and counsel the individual.

The SOBRIETY Court Probation Officer will be charged with the initial identification of potential participants via a check of LEIN. Offenders with a prior violent, felony conviction will be ineligible for placement into Sobriety Court. Offenders who appear to be eligible for placement into Sobriety Court will be administered a short alcohol screening by probation at the arraignment to determine initial suitability. If deemed eligible, pre-trial will be set for 14 days after the arraignment. As a condition of bond, the offender will be required to submit to an alcohol assessment through Central Diagnostic & Referral (CDRS) during that time.

At the pre-trial, if all eligibility criteria have been met, the prosecutor will offer the offender SOBRIETY Court participation. If the offender and his or her attorney accept placement into this program, sentencing will occur that date. Sentencing will include all aspects of PHASE I, including the appropriate placement into substance abuse treatment. The offender will then formally begin SOBRIETY Court.

In order to tailor the treatment service plan to the individual= s needs and financial situation, we will rely on the needs assessment that is completed prior to sentencing. Specifically, we will be working in conjunction with, Mid-South Substance Abuse Commission, Reality Counseling, Total Health Education, Prevention and Training Services, National Council on Alcoholism, and others, for substance abuse and LIFESKILLS services. We will partner with Community Mental Health to address the mental health issues of our co-occurring disorder offenders. We will work with MICHIGAN WORKS and other educational agencies for education and job placement/skills. Other community service agencies will be networked with when the need arises for housing, literacy, LIFESKILLS, and family issues.

Participants will be required to initially submit to Daily PBT= s and weekly random urine screens. Testing will continue through each Phase, however, the frequency will diminish as he/she progresses through all the phases. Testing will remain on at least a random basis until graduation. Violations of testing will result in immediate, graduated sanctions, which will include increased testing.

The SOBRIETY Court Team will continue to meet with local law enforcement on a quarterly basis, or as more often if needed, to discuss a continued collaborative approach to working together. We will have Sobriety Court participants probation conditions entered into LEIN. Local law enforcement will be instructed to call the Probation Officer immediately if they have contact with an offender.

This department will coordinate with local law enforcement to team-up with a specific police officer to do random home visits on offenders at times when the court is not normally open to the public.

A specific Probation Officer will be dedicated as the SOBRIETY Court Probation Officer. Each offender will meet with this Officer, at least once weekly, during Phase I. Following this, he/she will meet with this officer bi-weekly and eventually monthly during the subsequent phases.

Each offender will also be subject to scheduled home visits by his/her officer.

Initially, the Judge will meet with each participant on a bi-weekly basis eventually moving to a monthly basis in Phase II. The participant meets twice with the Judge in Phase III, and once prior to their Graduation during Phase IV.. The Judge will oversee the graduation ceremony as well.

Some offenders who have been assessed to as special-needs offenders, could be placed on weekly reporting to the Judge, until the team feels he/she is ready to move to the normal rotation of bi-weekly court hearings.

Offenders can be moved back to a previous Phase if their progress stalls or a violation occurs, which would result in more frequent judicial involvement, as outlined in each phase.

Although a program where the participant does not relapse is ideal, the research sustains that relapse is a part of the recovery process for substance dependent individuals. In order to effectively deal with relapses and noncompliance, our program will consist of graduated sanctions that will be applied as an immediate consequence.

In addition, incentives will be incorporated into our program to recognize successes. The business community will be solicited for gift certificates and/or prizes to present to the participants as an incentive for reaching milestones (i.e. entering a new phase) on the way to full recovery and sobriety. Certificates will also be awarded to participants when they partake in their graduation ceremony.

Participants will be required to make a contribution towards their SOBRIETY Court program costs. Participants with special financial concerns will be required to contribute via community service work, as deemed appropriate by the team.

To evaluate the success of our program, we have partnered with Researchers at Michigan State University to conduct an evaluation of our program, including an analysis of the rate of recidivism of SOBRIETY Court participants compared to those placed on a regular probationary period for similar charges. We will also work with the Secretary of State to extrapolate a two year control group of offenders with similar criteria of our SOBRIETY Court participants, to compare recidivism rates.

We will work with our MIS department and software providers to be able to manage and collect the data needed to accomplish this. A software program that best fits these needs would need to be purchased. The evaluation data is critical to justifying the continuance of the program.

The 55th District Court was selected and continues to be involved with the federally funded Sobriety COURT PLANNING INITIATIVE. This training consists of three phases which were attended by our collaborative team (Judge, Chief P.O./Coordinator, Prosecutor, Defense Attorney, treatment representatives, Community Corrections Manager, MIS representative and Deputy County Controller). The Sobriety court team continued to meet bi-weekly until the implementation of our program.. Once the program is established, we will continue to meet monthly to discuss developments and improvements. The core team: Judge, Probation and treatment will meet weekly at Sobriety Court sessions.

To gather community support, we have already established a Steering committee which consists of representatives from law enforcement, MADD, substance abuse and mental health treatment community, support-group community, faith-based community and education. This steering committee will meet quarterly to address the needs of the community in relationship to the operation of the sobriety court.

In addition, we will continue to foster additional collaboration with other community agencies by speaking to local rotary, chamber of commerce, police, media and other stakeholders, on an ongoing basis.

The SOBRIETY Court Team consists of: Judge, Probation Officer, Counselors, Coordinator, Defense Counsel and Prosecutor. Each team member has individual duties and responsibilities they perform for the successful operation of the Sobriety Court. All of their work culminates in the weekly staffing of Sobriety COURT participants that will appear before the court that week. The staffing is a confidential hearing with each team member providing treatment and supervision recommendations based on the participant= s compliance. Due to the confidential nature of these discussions, specifics are not disclosed to the public. After the staffing is concluded and Court is convened, all team members present to the participants in attendance an image of unanimity. In keeping with the 10 key components of SOBRIETY Court, court is conducted in a non-adversarial manner.

Participants will be screened at the time of arraignment. This program is specifically targeting OUIL 2^nd/ OWI 2^nd / IMPAIRED 2^nd offenders (however, those with significant alcohol and/or other drug dependence could be included in this program if space is available). Offenders who are before the court for an OWI 2^nd, who do not have a prior conviction for a violent crime (as established by federal guidelines), reside within 30 miles of Ingham County and do not have other warrants/holds for their arrest will immediately meet with the Sobriety Court Probation Officer for an alcohol/drug screening. If that screening shows a significant alcohol problem, they will be given a bond condition to have an alcohol assessment administered at Central Diagnostic & Referral Center (CDRS) within the next week with a release of information being signed to the 55^th District Court. A Pre-trial hearing will be set within two weeks of arraignment.

The assessment will be available at the pre-trial conference. If it shows that the defendant has a significant substance abuse problem, and if they are otherwise eligible, they will be offered the SOBRIETY Court program. If they accept, they will be immediately sentenced to the SOBRIETY Court program.
 

PHASE I        (Minimum of 12 weeks)

-Attend Sobriety Court and meet with the Judge on a BI-WEEKLY basis, following all rules/conditions as set forth in the contract
-Meet with Probation Officer a minimum of ONCE weekly and additional times, as ordered
-Attend all treatment sessions as ordered in the treatment plan
-Submit to DAILY PBT= s
-Submit to random weekly urine screens
-Attend 12 step support group (such as AA) minimum of four times/weekly
-Maintain/secure employment
-Follow through with other referrals (GED, LIFESKILLS, etc)
-Maintain journal

PHASE II        (Minimum of 12 weeks)

-Attend Sobriety Court and meet with the Judge on a MONTHLY basis, following all rules/conditions as set forth in the contract
-Meet with Probation Officer a minimum of bi- weekly and additional times, as ordered
-Attend all treatment sessions as ordered in the treatment plan
-Submit to random weekly PBT= s (three times/weekly)
-Submit to random urine screens
-Attend 12 step support group (such as AA) at least three times weekly
-Secure a sponsor and meet regularly with him/her
-Maintain/secure employment
-Follow through with other referrals (GED, LIFESKILLS, etc)
-Complete minimum of 24 hours of Community Service Work (CSW)
-Maintain journal

PHASE III           (Minimum 12 weeks)

-Attend Sobriety Court and meet with the Judge twice (2 way through & at end) prior to moving to the transition phase, following all rules/conditions as set forth in the contract
-Meet with Probation Officer a minimum of once/monthly, additional times, as ordered
-Complete Treatment
-Submit to random PBT= s and urine screens, as ordered
-Attend 12 step support group (such as AA) at least three times weekly
-Secure a sponsor and meet regularly with him/her
-Maintain/secure employment
-Follow through with other referrals (GED, LIFESKILLS, etc)
-Complete minimum of 24 hours of CSW
-Maintain journal

PHASE IV (TRANSITION)        (Minimum 12 weeks)

-Attend Sobriety Court and meet with the Judge once prior to Graduation
-Continue to meet with Probation once/monthly, additional times, as ordered
-Random PBT= s and urine screens, as ordered
-Attend 12 step support groups (such as AA) as ordered
-Maintain employment
-Pay all fees
-Complete remaining CSW hours
-Maintain journal

GRADUATION

- Participant, Judge, Probation Officer, arresting officer, family, et al, present

POST-GRADUATION

-Remain on probation from 3-12 months of non-reporting status

Participants will be held accountable with Sobriety Court requirements. If a client does not meet the requirements or relapses, he/she will be held accountable via sanctions. Graduated / progressive sanctions demonstrate immediate and swift consequences to negative or inappropriate behavior. Sanctions are levied to help shape future behavior and encourage compliance. Sanctions should work in concert with ongoing treatment activities to directly address a client= s conduct, and encourage compliance.

Examples are:

curfew tightened-up
tether or other electronic monitoring
increased monitoring
community service
written/taped assignments
increased urine tests
return back to a previous phase
increase support
short-tem jail

Just as sanctions result from inappropriate behavior, positive reinforcement must accompany achievement of program goals and exhibited drug/alcohol free behavior. Incentives are immediate acknowledgment that goals are being accomplished. Incentives are offered as a tangible way to acknowledge a client reaching a sobriety milestone, progression to a new phase or other times when their progress should be lauded.

Examples are:

relaxed curfew
phase progression
decreased supervision and alcohol/urine testing
gratitude journals
go first at hearings
tickets
less time in program
praise from bench
bus tokens
entertainment
gifts
sobriety tokens
individualized information
planners
watches
alarm clocks
big books
certificates

The following will constitute termination from the Sobriety court program and a probation violation petition and formal probation violation hearing being held, which could result in significant incarceration.

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