A Record 120 Members of Congress

 Pledge to Restore

$40 Million in Drug Court Funding

 in Fiscal Year 2009

 

The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) is pleased to announce that, after enduring three years of drastically-reduced funding for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program, drug courts are now a step closer to receiving a historical $40 million in fiscal year 2009.  A record 120 Members of Congress – up significantly from 78 Members in 2007 – have formally requested $40 million in funding be restored to the DOJ grant program.

 

An unprecedented 77 U.S. Representatives and 43 Senators agreed to co-sign letters co-authored by Congressmen Neil Abercrombie (D-1st-HI), John Boozman (R-3rd-AL), Rick Larsen (D-2nd-WA) and Jim Ramstad (R-3rd-MN) in the House, and Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in the Senate. The letters request that the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittees fund the DOJ drug court grant program “at a minimum of the historic $40 million level” in fiscal year 2009.

 

“The co-authors of the House and Senate letters are heroes to 22,000 professionals and hundreds of thousands of drug court clients and their family members,” said NADCP Chief Executive Officer West Huddleston. “Their combined efforts to reach out to their Congressional colleagues to make this a significant funding priority have been nothing short of incredible.”

 

“Drug Courts strike the proper balance between the need to protect community safety and the need to improve public health and well-being; between the need for treatment and the need to hold people accountable for their actions; between hope and redemption on the one hand and good citizenship on the other” added Mr. Huddleston.   “Although drug court is the most effective justice strategy to combat addiction, unfortunately, there are not enough drug courts to go around.  It is time to take drug courts to scale by increasing their numbers, enhancing their capacity and spreading their philosophy of combining treatment with accountability for all nonviolent drug offenders. The restoration of full funding to the DOJ drug court grant program is the first step toward that goal.”

 

The DOJ grant program has been integral to the rapid growth of the drug court field since the first program was started in 1989 in Miami, Fla. To date, there are 2,146 operational drug courts nationwide.

 

We call upon all drug court professionals to get involved to restore the funding for the DOJ grant program and to help take drug courts to sale.  As the most successful demand reduction strategy available to our addicted citizens, drug courts have yet to receive the necessary federal investment to go to scale and meet the need.  The question is no longer, “do drug courts work” but “why isn’t there a drug court in all 3,143 counties and parishes in the United States?  

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