Drug Court Embraces Treatment
In Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, there is a Drug Court Program that was established in April 2006 and is an innovative approach to disposing of drug-fueled criminal offenses by offering participants intensive help to fight their addictions. The program encourages them to change their lifestyles and offers an opportunity to earn a dismissal of the charges against them or to have their court supervision terminated early.
Participation in the program is voluntary and lasts between 15 months and three years. The length of the program depends on how well an offender succeeds in dealing with the addiction and becoming a productive, crime-free citizen. The program typically has 130 participants at any given time. The treatment court requires participants to honestly acknowledge their addictions, take responsibility for their lives and understand the consequences of their actions.
The drug court program uses the cooperative team approach and court review sessions of a treatment court, rather than traditional adversarial proceedings of criminal court. The goal is to have a program and environment that is both supportive and forces offenders to confront their addictions. It is designed to encourage the participant’s movement away from an addictive lifestyle but swiftly imposes consequences when the participant returns to addictive behaviors.
Under the program, the drug court treatment team — consisting of probation officers, treatment provider representatives, the judge, a defense lawyer and a prosecutor — meets weekly to discuss an offender’s progress and to develop individual strategies for each addict. The drug court hopes to get the addict sober and the other is to prevent drug-fueled crimes against society.
If you or someone you know has a problem with drug addiction or dependence, you should seek help now before tragedy strikes. Thankfully, there is good help available. Detoxification and behavioral therapy have proven to be effective in treating drug dependence. Addicts are often unable to complete treatment on their own or with family members, so it’s very important to seek the right treatment center. At Seabrook, we customize our treatment plans to individual patient’s needs, so you know the help you’re getting is right for you or a loved one. Seabrook has rehabilitation centers in New Jersey (NJ), Pennsylvania (PA), and an outpatient center in New York (NY). Contact Seabrook today for any questions about drugs, addiction, and treatment.
