In 1989, the first Drug Court was created in Miami-Dade County after the courts were fed up with the same offenders and the growing drug cases. A group of individuals employed with the justice system decided to look for a better method of trying drug offenses by forming a drug court division. The group of individual’s solution for the repeated offenses and offenders was to combine drug therapy treatment with the legal authority of the courts. As a team, the drug court concept was effective in c correcting the lifestyle and behaviors of drug offenders. With its success, Miami-Dade Drug court sparked an effective trend and sparked the formation of 492 Drug Courts in the United States and continues to influence justice systems. (NADCP, n.d.)
Drug Courts were created to provide an alternative for non-violent drug offense in order for the courts to reduce substance abuse through rehabilitation and future recidivism possibilities through probation monitoring efforts and treatment facilities and other therapeutic services. Drug courts specialize in specific issues to reach goals of non-violent drug offenders through screening and assessments to evaluate the risk, treatment, and how the offender will respond to the efforts. Drug courts also employ the efforts of monitoring and drug testing through probation, as well as outpatient and
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Drug courts encourage the support of the family to aid the offender in rehabilitation and recovery to ensure the offender is successful in the treatment and post treatment. Many drug courts include the community as another source of recovery for the offender as the offender is re-entering society with corrected behavior and learning to adapt to the community and applying non-drug coping skills. (National Institute of Justice,