Stone Mountain Judicial Court - DeKalb County, Georgia
  


Drug Court - Program Description


The daily per participant DCDC cost to DeKalb County is $8.50 or $3,102 annually, representing a savings of well over $1,000,000 in 2009 for participants who would otherwise be incarcerated in the DeKalb County Jail at $57 per day.

The DeKalb County Drug Court is a judicially supervised drug treatment/alternative sentencing program offered by DeKalb Superior Court.  The program serves non-violent, felony-level offenders whose criminal behavior is driven by drug addiction. 

The DCDC formally began operation in July 2002 and has enrolled 318 participants to date into outpatient treatment services.  In 2008, the program became the first in the southeast to offer two levels of treatment and supervision based on participants’ risk of recidivism and service needs, and is regarded as a model program for its innovative services and use of evidence-based treatment practices.  In fact, in a July 2009 report submitted to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, the DCDC was recommended as a national mentor court for drug courts and treatment programs seeking to observe “outstanding practices.”

The program is a leading example of interdisciplinary cooperation, joining together the DeKalb Superior Court, District Attorney’s Office, Police Department, Pretrial Services, Public Defenders Office, Sheriff’s Department, and DeKalb Community Service Board.  Additionally, the DCDC has long running partnerships with many local universities and colleges, nonprofits, civic groups, and churches. 

The DCDC receives an annual evaluation from the Georgia State University, Department of Criminal Justice, and maintains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability; dealing in hard, independently verified data.  The data are clear, the DCDC is DeKalb’s best and only proven method for engaging non-violent, drug addicted offenders in treatment and curbing recidivism.