As May comes to a close, so does National Treatment Court Month. It is led by All Rise, the training, membership, and advocacy organization for justice system innovation addressing substance use and mental health at every intercept point. National Treatment Court Month recognizes that we can provide effective alternatives to incarceration for individuals with substance use and mental health disorders; it is also a celebration of the lives saved, families reunited, and communities restored by treatment and recovery. There are now more than 4,000 treatment courts in the United States, including nineteen in the state of Kansas with plans for several more in the coming months and years. Treatment courts are a sentencing alternative that provide lifesaving treatment to justice involved individuals with substance use and mental health disorders.
According to All Rise, treatment courts are the single most successful intervention in our nation’s history for leading people with substance use and mental health disorders out of the justice system and into lives of recovery, stability, and health. Treatment courts have transformed the way the justice system responds to individuals with substance use and mental health disorders by combining accountability with evidence-based treatment. By delivering individualized, evidence-based treatment, supervision, drug testing, and social services, treatment courts save lives and reduce crime. According to All Rise, treatment courts annually refer more than 150,000 people to lifesaving treatment and recovery support services. Not only is the treatment court approach effective and humane, but it also saves considerable money for taxpayers. According to All Rise, research shows that treatment courts produce benefits of $6,208 per participant and return up to $27 for every $1 invested. According to the 2020 annual report from the Kansas Department of Corrections, it costs an average of $30,100 a year to keep someone in prison. (allrise.org; kscourts.org)
The Ellis County Recovery Court (formerly Ellis County Drug Court) began in 2018 and has had fifty-eight participants to date successfully complete our program. Our court is one of thousands that demonstrate why treatment courts are so critical in the effort to address addiction and related crime. The scientific research agrees: Numerous studies have found that treatment courts reduce crime and drug use and save money.
Research shows treatment courts also improve education, employment, housing, financial stability, and family reunification, which reduces foster care placements.
Treatment courts represent a compassionate approach to the ravages of addiction. Ellis County is privileged to be able to reap the economic and societal benefits of its Recovery Court. The Recovery Court team thanks the community for its continued support of our efforts to make a difference in Ellis County and the 23rd Judicial District.
— TERESA GREENWOOD, 23rd Judicial District Recovery Court Coordinator