Program Design
Most juvenile drug courts are targeting juveniles with nonviolent drug or drug-related offenses, although some programs include certain assault cases where substance use is involved, such as fighting at school. Many feel that children of participants in adult drug courts also should be targeted--particularly if they are involved in the juvenile justice system--because they are already exposed to drug use through their parents or other family members, even if they are not themselves before the court.
There is debate as to whether children involved in gang activity should be permitted in a juvenile drug court. Some feel, at least initially, a juvenile drug court should exclude children involved in gangs; others, however, are concerned about "labeling" children as "gang-involved" without taking into account the nature of their involvement, the role of gangs in their community, and whether any of these children might really need to be helped and could profit from the program.
Most family drug courts are targeting abuse and neglect cases, many of which enter initially as civil actions but quickly become criminal matters as the court's criminal contempt powers are relied upon for enforcement of court orders. Most programs characterize the extent of substance addiction among the participating adults as severe and long-term.
Treatment
As with the adult drug court, juvenile and family drug court treatment services do not end with the treatment provider. All activity generated by the juvenile drug court is designed to have a therapeutic value, including the ongoing interaction between "treatment" and "court" processes. Among the special attributes of treatment services offered by juvenile drug courts are: (1) assessing the juvenile and his/her family situation early and continually (2) providing treatment programs that are developmentally based, gender specific, and culturally competent; (3) incorporating an "outreach" component to the assessment and treatment process that includes periodic visits to the home to assess the family situation; and (4) addressing the school performance, peer relationships, and self-esteem issues of each juvenile participant, in addition to his/her family situation. It is also recognized that treatment services for participants in juvenile and family drug court may need to be provided beyond the sanction period (e.g., the period of the court's jurisdiction), so the availability of aftercare services is vital.
Sanctions and Incentives
Like adult drug courts, sanctions in the juvenile drug court must be structured to promote each juvenile's ability to take responsibility for his/her actions. Positive rewards and incentives for compliance with program conditions are as important as negative sanctions for program noncompliance. Most drug court professionals agree that the hallmark of any sanctioning scheme must be consistency and predictability.
As noted above, juvenile drug courts commonly impose sentences of detention that can be stayed pending participation in the drug court but can still be maintained for leverage with a noncompliant drug court participant. There is some concern about the use of detention in cases before the determination of guilt; in these instances the nature of the detention facility must be considered. Short-term incarceration is generally viewed as much more effective than long-term.
The positive incentives valued most highly by drug court participants, both juvenile and adult, seem to be the handshake and words of encouragement from the judge and the accolades of the other drug court participants. Specially designed point systems and contracts between the drug court and the participant provide both positive and negative reinforcement and help to develop the participant's internal sense of accountability. Some juvenile drug court programs require participants to keep a daily journal or maintain a "thinking log," as a key requirement for program participation. One judge maintains a drug court library from which all participants must read and has designated a portion of the courtroom wall to display artwork produced by the participating juveniles.
Management and Evaluation
The need to maintain adequate information on both participants and the overall operation of the juvenile drug court is critical. Like their adult counterparts, most juvenile drug courts are encountering difficulties in integrating the various databases that contain essential information (e.g., court, school, public health, social services, law enforcement, treatment provider) but are frequently incompatible with one another. In addition, jurisdictions that are integrating existing systems for juvenile and family drug court purposes must comply with Federal and State confidentiality requirements. All agree that juvenile and family drug courts must produce objective and measurable outcome data that can serve as a guideline for monitoring program operations and against which the effectiveness of the program can be assessed. The first step in developing useful information systems for juvenile and family drug courts, however, requires that representatives of the key agencies involved identify the critical data elements needed to make decisions and measure outcome, and then determine how this data can be compiled, maintained, and accessed on a regular basis.