The Center for Court Innovation

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	A Decade of Change: The First 10 Years of the Center for Court Innovation
	A white paper looking at the history and accomplishments of the Center for Court Innovation.
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	'A New Way of Doing Business': A Conversation about the Statewide Coordination of Problem-Solving Courts
	By Robert V. Wolf
	To guide governments as they think about how to coordinate problem-solving courts on a statewide basis, the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Center for Court Innovation brought together 18 policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in April 2008 for a roundtable on the topic. This paper summarizes their discussion.
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	Action Research: Using Information to Improve Your Drug Court
	By Michael Rempel
	A practical guide for drug court administrators and staff reporting how they can use data productively to monitor their operations, measure key performance indicators, identify areas of success, and bring to light problem areas or ways to improve.
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	Annual Report: 2009
	Highlights of the Center for Court Innovation's accomplishments in 2009.
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	Bridging the Gap: Researchers, Practitioners, and the Future of Drug Courts
	By Aubrey Fox
	An edited transcript focused on the intersection of drug courts, research and state court system reform efforts.
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	Data, Delinquency and Drug Treatment: How Technology Can Aid a Juvenile Drug Court
	By Dory Hack
	A discussion of the web-based case management system designed for the Harlem Community Justice Center's Juvenile Intervention Court. A tool for court planners, this white paper addresses the information challenges unique to a juvenile drug court.
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	Do Reentry Courts Reduce Recidivism? Results from the Harlem Parole Reentry Court
	By Zachary Hamilton
	A growing number of jurisdictions nationwide are seeking to adapt the drug court model to returning ex-offenders. First conceived by Jeremy Travis in 2000, the Reentry Court model was created to address the risks and needs of returning offenders during the riskiest time of reintegration the period immediately following release. In a first-ever rigorous test of a specialized reentry court, the Center found that the Harlem Parole Reentry Court produced a significant reduction in re-convictions for new crimes, yet also led to increased parole revocations for technical violations. While these results indicate a promising court model, policy implications regarding "supervision effects" (seen in higher technical revocation rates) are discussed as well.
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	Documenting Results: Research on Problem-Solving Justice
	By Staff of the Center for Court Innovation
	This collection of research reports, written by Center for Court Innovation staff, analyzes the impact of a broad range of problem-solving initiatives launched in New York State and nationwide over the past decade. Among the findings: judicially monitored drug treatment succeeds in reducing recidivism among addicted offenders; more than 85 percent of offenders at an experimental community court thought their cases were handled fairly-a significant improvement compared to conventional courts; by linking mentally ill offenders to community-based treatment instead of incarceration, courts can help improve offenders functioning and reduce the likelihood of re-arrest. The book also includes overviews of the national research literature on drug courts and community courts; an evaluation of a new approach to teen dating violence; and an investigation of how problem-solving principles might be integrated more broadly throughout state court systems.
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	"Drug Courts an Effective Treatment Alternative"
	By Amanda Cissner, Dana Kralstein, and Michael Rempel
	An overview of the findings of the groundbreaking study, "The New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation: Policies, Participants and Impacts," one of the most comprehensive statewide evaluations of drug courts ever done. The study, conducted by the Center for Court Innovation and the New York State Office of Court Administration, found consistent and meaningful recidivism impacts across a large number of drug court sites. Published in Criminal Justice 19, No. 2, Summer 2004 © 2004 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
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	Drug Courts: Personal Stories Toolkit
	The Drug Courts: Personal Stories Toolkit is a short curriculum to help schools educate youth about the important work of drug courts and to promote understanding of the justice system. The Toolkit uses excerpts from Drug Courts: Personal Stories to prompt students' exploration of two critical questions: "What is the connection between substance abuse and crime?" and "How do the courts promote community safety beyond punishing offenders?" The toolkit is comprised of two parts: classroom lesson plan and an optional panel discussion with a judge and drug treatment court graduate, and, if possible, other stakeholders such as attorneys, treatment providers, and community members.
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	Drug Treatment, Managed Care and the Courts: From Conflict to Collaboration
	By Robert V. Wolf
	A guide for drug court practitioners interested in building collaborative relationships with managed care organizations. The strategies suggested in this paper emphasize the importance of strengthening communication between drug courts and managed care organizations and also urge advocates of drug courts to play an active role in shaping their state's health care policies.
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	Drugs, Courts and Neighborhoods: Community Reintegration and the Brooklyn Treatment Court
	By David Anderson and Greg Berman
	A description of the lessons learned by the Brooklyn Treatment Court about re-integrating recovered addicts into the community.
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	Evaluation of the Suffolk County Juvenile Treatment Court: Process and Impact Findings
	By Dana Kralstein
	A comprehensive evaluation of the Suffolk County (New York) Juvenile Treatment Court, including the results of systematic courtroom observations, participant focus groups, and an impact study testing effects on recidivism. The results showed above-average retention and graduation rates, but little impact on recidivism. The report also provides a thorough account of Suffolk's juvenile model, how it differs from adult drug courts, and what the previous literature (including 19 earlier studies) finds regarding the effectiveness of the juvenile model.
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	Fact Sheet—Evaluating Your Program
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	Fact Sheet—Finding the Resources to Help Your Program Thrive
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	Fact Sheet—Mapping Community Resources
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	Fact Sheet—Planning Checklist
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	Fact Sheet—Problem-Solving Justice in the United States: Common Principles
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	Fact Sheet—Publicizing Your Program and Its Successes
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	Fact Sheet—Using Data to Build Your Program
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	Fact Sheet—Using Diversion as Part of a Problem-Solving Strategy
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	"Fixing Families: The Story of the Manhattan Family Treatment Court"
	By Robert V. Wolf
	A description of the Manhattan Family Treatment Court, including how it works and the challenges it has overcome. Published in the Journal of the Center for Families, Children and the Courts Vol. 2 (2000)
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	"Going to Scale: A Conversation About the Future of Drug Courts"
	By Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox
	An analysis of drug court efforts to move into the mainstream of court operations across the country. Published in Court Review (Fall 2002)
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	"Institutionalizing Innovation: The New York Drug Court Story"
	By Greg Berman, John Feinblatt, and Aubrey Fox
	An analysis of New York's new statewide drug treatment initiative seeking full-scale reform of the courts. The article was first published in 28 Fordham Urb. L.J. 277 (2000) It is copyrighted by the Urban Law Journal and posted with permission
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	"Predictors of Engagement in Court-Mandated Treatment: Findings at the Brooklyn Treatment Court, 1996-2000"
	By Christine DeStefano and Michael Rempel
	A study of key criminal justice, demographic, drug use, and neighborhood-based characteristics associated with serious engagement in treatment at the Brooklyn Treatment Court. Published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Voulume 4 (2002).

	Problem-Solving Justice: A Law School Course
	This 14-week law school course analyzes the benefits and challenges of problem-solving justice. In addition to looking at the history and constitutional issues surrounding this topic, the course includes visits to traditional and problem-solving courts, class debates, lectures from practitioners from the field, and three student papers.
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	Process Evaluation of the Queens Misdemeanor Treatment Court
	By Melissa Labriola
	A comprehensive process evaluation of the Queens Misdemeanor Treatment Court, a drug court for "persistent" misdemeanor offenders in Queens County, New York. Eligible defendants are drug-addicted, face misdemeanor charges and have at least three prior nonviolent misdemeanor convictions. The process evaluation describes the program's major assets and challenges; and documents program policies, participant characteristics, and compliance outcomes.
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	"Promoting Permanency: Family Group Conferencing at the Manhattan Family Treatment Court"
	By Robert V. Wolf
	How the Manhattan Family Treatment Court has used family group conferencing to support the court's primary goals: speedy permanency planning and parental sobriety Published in the Journal of the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Vol. 4 (2003)
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	Race, Bias and Problem-Solving Courts
	By Robert V. Wolf
	In order to ensure that problem-solving courts work as fairly and effectively as possible with all populations, research needs to be done into the issues of race and bias. This groundbreaking paper, published in the National Black Law Journal, is an attempt to guide researchers in the right direction by highlighting key concerns that are ripe for future exploration and analysis. Published in 21 Nat'l Black L.J. 1 (2009).
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	Recidivism 101: Evaluating the Impact of Your Drug Court
	By Michael Rempel
	A plain-language discussion written either for practitioners or for researchers new to the drug court field of the key methodological questions that must be addressed in any recidivism analysis. This paper was motivated by the reality that while producing reductions in recidivism is a universal drug court goal, court administrators and staff are routinely uncertain how to go about obtaining a valid recidivism analysis. The paper discusses: (1) which drug court participants to include in a recidivism analysis, (2) what is an appropriate "comparison group," (3) how to ensure that the final drug court participants and comparison samples are truly comparable, and (4) what is an appropriate definition of recidivism. Real examples from the evaluation literature are incorporated throughout to provide clear illustrations of how different methods have been applied.
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	Spanish Version

	Recommended Practices: New York State Adult Drug Treatment Courts
	A comprehensive resource guide for drug treatment courts, meant to promote quality and consistency in drug court policies, procedures, and operations. Informed by literature reviews, structured site visits, practitioner interviews, drug court observations, outcome data from the Universal Treatment Application, the New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation, and results from a survey of all drug treatment courts in New York, this document catalogues the best of what is known about the drug court model and the substance-abusing offender population. Written by an Advisory Committee of drug court professionals with editorial oversight from the staff of the Center for Court Innovation, the recommendations were formulated with New York State's drug court professionals in mind, but will also help inform the work of drug court practitioners across the U.S. as they seek to improve program outcomes for the participants and communities they serve.
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	"Risks and Rewards: Drug Courts and Community Reintegration"
	By Greg Berman, Carol Fisler, and Aubrey Fox
	An examination of the ethical and practical issues that drug courts face in trying to smooth the reintegration of drug court graduates into their home communities. National Drug Court Institute Review Vol. III, 2 (2003)
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	Seeing Eye to Eye: Participant and Staff Perspectives on Drug Courts
	By Amanda Cissner and Donald Farole, Jr.
	The results of focus groups conducted among the participants and court staff in three New York State drug courts. The research was designed to provide feedback about drug court operations and to assist programs by examining the extent to which participants and staff hold comparable views about various aspects of the drug court experience. In other words, sought to answer the question: do drug court participants and court staff see eye to eye?
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	Surveying Communities: A Resource for Community Justice Planners
	By Leslie Paik
	Outlines how criminal justice officials can use community surveys to gather data about neighborhood public safety problems.
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	The Drug Court Model and Chronic Misdemeanants: Impact Evaluation of the Queens Misdemeanor Treatment Court
	By Melissa Labriola
	An impact evaluation of the Queens Misdemeanor Treatment Court, a drug court targeting chronic misdemeanor offenders in Queens, New York. Overall, the evaluation finds that the Court significantly reduced the probability, prevalence, and timing of re-arrests over a three-year tracking period. Regarding sentencing outcomes on the initial case, participants in the drug court were significantly less likely to be sentenced to jail but, because those who failed the drug court received longer sentences, participants averaged more total days in jail than the comparison group.
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	The Drug Court Model and Persistent DWI: An Evaluation of the Erie and Niagara DWI/Drug Courts
	By Amanda Cissner
	An impact evaluation of two hybrid DWI/drug courts designed to address the issue of persistent driving while intoxicated (DWI). The results suggest that DWI court participants have slightly lower re-arrest rates than a matched comparison group; but the differences are small and non-significant. The evaluation reports other positive outcomes for court participants, including low rates of alcohol use during the period of program participation and high program completion rates.
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	The Future of Drug Courts: How States are Mainstreaming the Drug Court Model
	By Aubrey Fox and Robert V. Wolf
	A look at how four states – Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio and New York – are attempting to integrate drug courts into their court systems.
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	The New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation: Policies, Participants and Impacts (COMPLETE DOCUMENT)
	By Amanda Cissner, Robyn Cohen, Donald Farole, Jr., Dana Kralstein, Melissa Labriola, Michael Magnani, and Michael Rempel
	One of the first multi-year evaluations in the country to demonstrate consistent and meaningful recidivism impacts across a large number of drug court sites. This study, conducted by staff from the New York State Unified Court System and the Center for Court Innovation, documents the policies, participant characteristics, and performance of participants in eleven of New York's oldest and largest drug courts. Among other analyses, the report evaluates the impact of six drug courts on recidivism and identifies the participant characteristics and programmatic features that increase the likelihood of successful drug court outcomes.
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	The New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation: Policies, Participants and Impacts (CONCLUSION ONLY)
	By Amanda Cissner, Robyn Cohen, Donald Farole, Jr., Dana Kralstein, Melissa Labriola, Michael Magnani, and Michael Rempel
	One of the first multi-year evaluations in the country to demonstrate consistent and meaningful recidivism impacts across a large number of drug court sites. This study, conducted by staff from the New York State Unified Court System and the Center for Court Innovation, documents the policies, participant characteristics, and performance of participants in eleven of New York's oldest and largest drug courts. (The complete document is also available for downloading).
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	The New York State Adult Drug Court Evaluation: Policies, Participants and Impacts (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ONLY)
	By Amanda Cissner, Robyn Cohen, Donald Farole, Jr., Dana Kralstein, Melissa Labriola, Michael Magnani, and Michael Rempel
	One of the first multi-year evaluations in the country to demonstrate consistent and meaningful recidivism impacts across a large number of drug court sites. This study, conducted by staff from the New York State Unified Court System and the Center for Court Innovation, documents the policies, participant characteristics, and performance of participants in eleven of New York's oldest and largest drug courts. (The complete document is also available for downloading).
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	The State of Drug Court Research: Moving Beyond 'Do They Work?'
	By Amanda Cissner and Michael Rempel
	An overview of the drug court research literature written for practitioners and researchers alike. This review assesses what we know now concerning both whether drug courts work, including their effects on recidivism, drug use, and cost savings. It also discusses how and for whom they work, including which components of the model are most important and how those components should be implemented to maximize effectiveness.
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	The Staten Island Treatment Court Evaluation: Planning, Implementation, and Impacts
	By Kelly O'Keefe and Michael Rempel
	A comprehensive process and impact evaluation of the Staten Island Treatment Court, a drug court for addicted, nonviolent defendants in Staten Island, New York. The process evaluation describes the program's major assets and challenges; and documents program policies, participant characteristics, and compliance outcomes. The impact evaluation compares participant re-arrest rates to a matched sample composed of similar defendants arrested in the year before the drug court opened.
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	What Makes A Court Problem-Solving: Universal Performance Indicators for Problem-Solving Justice
	By Adam Mansky, Rachel Porter, and Michael Rempel
	Faced with the recent explosion of initiatives seeking to address the underlying problems of litigants, victims, and communities, there is an urgent need for guidance in how to assess court effectiveness at problem-solving. This report establishes a set of universal performance indicators against which to judge the success of specialized problem-solving courts. Supplemental indicators draw particular attention to the tracking needs of drug, mental health, community, and domestic violence courts. This report also seeks to assist traditional court managers by establishing a more limited set of performance measures, designed to capture problem-solving activity throughout an entire courthouse, not only within a specialized court context.
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	"Women and Addiction: Challenges for Drug Court Practitioners"
	By Laura D'Angelo and Robert V. Wolf
	A look at the many ways in which the Brooklyn Treatment Court addresses the unique needs of women recovering from substance abuse. Published in The Justice System Journal, Volume 23, No. 3 (2002)
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