May is recognized as National Treatment Court Month, an opportunity to highlight the Specialty Courts programs for those in the justice system with substance use, mental health, or co-occurring diagnoses. The Second Judicial District Court (SJDC) Specialty Courts serve more than 750 participants a year.
The SJDC operates seven Specialty Courts: Adult Drug Court; Felony Driving Under the Influence Court; Medication-Assisted Treatment Court; Mental Health Court; Prison Reentry Court; Veterans Treatment Court; and Young Offender Court.
“Each participant receives an individualized, evidence-based treatment plan, and works together with the presiding judge, court coordinators, defense attorneys, prosecutors, treatment providers, career and employment consultants, and probation officers to provide ongoing recovery, treatment and program support and accountability,” Chief Judge Lynne Jones, presiding judge over the Young Offender Court, said. “Successful participants become employed, pay restitution, fees and complete rigorous counseling and testing. Our participants leave the criminal justice system to lead stable lives in continued recovery with regained hope and opportunities.”
The mission of these Specialty Courts is to improve quality of life, reduce recidivism, and increase community safety and awareness by engaging the drug and alcohol abusing defendant, or the defendant with a mental health illness, in an intensive, court supervised, treatment program. A multidisciplinary team of a judge, defense and prosecution counsel, court officers, treatment providers, parole and probation officers, and drug testing staff work with the defendant.
“The judges of the Second Judicial District Court are proud of our Specialty Court teams’ nearly 30 years of providing the opportunity for criminal defendants to obtain sobriety and return to the community as law-abiding citizens in a dignified and respectful environment,” Judge Tammy Riggs said. “Last year alone, the court provided roughly $2 million in savings to the residents of Washoe County in avoided litigation and incarceration costs, due to the high success rate of our participants.”
In 2023, SJDC saw 391 new participant cases, a 12 percent increase from the year before. And the courts graduated 210 participants from these programs in 2023.
There are more than 4,000 treatment courts in the United States, annually serving more than 150,000 people. These programs are the foundation of the U.S. justice reform movement, giving rise to other incarceration alternatives, diversion programs, sentencing and adolescent justice reforms, and more. These programs prove it is possible to repair lives, reunite families, reduce drug use and crime, and to do so at far less cost than jail or prison.
For its contribution to this movement of justice reform, the SDJC Specialty Courts Team was awarded the 2023 Compass Rose Diversity Award from the University of Nevada, Reno for outstanding contributions and leadership in the field of social work and criminal justice.
Each year during the month of May, the treatment court community comes together to celebrate National Treatment Court Month. To learn more, visit www.washoecourts.com/SpecialtyCourts.
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