Process Evaluation of the North St. Louis County Drug Court

Abstract

This executive summary offers a synopsis of the major findings from a process evaluation of the North St. Louis County Drug Court for the first 16 months of its operation. Most of the findings are based on analyses of all 43 individuals who made at least one appearance in the drug court during the 16-month period from its inception in December 2006, through March 2008. This report addresses fundamental issues pertaining to the Court’s caseload and operation, including: A profile of drug court participants – in terms of their substance problems, charge that led to their drug court referral, criminal history and risk; The court’s efficacy in linking participants with treatment and its level of supervision of participants; Whether participants are screened into the court in a timely fashion, and progress through the three phases of the program in accordance with the drug court’s protocol; and Drug court participants’ attitudes toward the court, based on findings from a survey.