A Qualitative Study Assessing the Effectiveness of the Key Components of a Drug Court

Abstract

Drug courts are guided by 10 key components that help ensure fidelity to the treatment model and guide practitioners in effectively treating substance use disorders in criminal justice settings. This qualitative study assessed the effectiveness of certain key components, such as the quality of substance abuse treatment and the importance of frequent contact with the judge, by interviewing drug court participants (N = 41). Participants felt that the substance abuse counseling they received could have been improved by offering more individual counseling and by developing a trustworthy therapeutic relationship among the drug court team, participants, and substance abuse counselors. Having frequent contact with the judge and the random drug testing system were viewed as effective interventions in assisting participants with being successful in the program, with the ultimate goal of graduating drug court. Implications for drug court practice and future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug court
• forensic counseling
• substance use disorders
• ten key components
• qualitative research

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank the St. Joseph County (South Bend), Indiana drug court team for their support in facilitating this research.

FUNDING

The authors thank Indiana Campus Compact (ICC). This research was funded through the Scholarship of Engagement Grant offered through ICC.