This may have been the first paper published, that dealt with the importance of “Community-Based Drug Courts”.I wrote this paper in 1993, in anticipation of the first nation drug court conference (Miami in December). This early paper dealt with a number of “Community” related issues facing drug courts, including: the critical need for effective state and federal funding strategies to encourage coordination among conflicting local agencies and organizations, the importance of a unified drug court “Community” under the direction of a single drug court judge, the extreme difficulty of establishing coordinated systems, the promise that technology would make coordination a reality, and an attempt at writing national standards for the field. Perhaps the most historically significant part of the document is found in the two appendii. The first called for a national drug court resource center (somewhat akin to the Clinton DOJ/OJP Drug Court’s Office) that would provide technical assistance, promote design strategies, and disseminate information to the field. The second was of even greater significance, calling for the creation of a national organization called the “National Association of Drug Court Professionals” (NADCP), to provide national leadership to the field, serving the interests of and promoting drug courts on a national level through education, training, organization, and lobbying.
A resource for community based reentry court systems
