The Collaborative Adult Drug Court Program and Re-entry Court Program is a combined effort between the County of San Diego, San Diego Superior Court, and representatives from the District Attorney’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, Office of the Public Defender, Probation Department, law enforcement agencies, and the Contractor to provide case management and non-residential Substance Use (SU) treatment, mental health treatment and drug testing services as an alternative to custody for non-violent adult offenders with a history of substance use and criminal justice contacts, previous treatment failures, and high rates of health and social problems. The program provides outpatient treatment, recovery and ancillary services to adults age eighteen (18) years and above, with substance use conditions, who may also be experiencing co-occurring mental health conditions. Some program key components include: ▪ Delivery of behavioral health care that is client and family-centered, individualized, clinically effective, trauma-informed, outcomes-driven, gender specific and culturally competent. ▪ Co-occurring condition services shall include clinical assessments for substance use and mental health conditions, care coordination and a “warm hand-off” to an appropriate level of care in the mental health system when need exceeds services available through the program. ▪ Evidence-based practices (EBPs) shall be utilized for all clients, including use of specific EBPs that demonstrate success for justice-involved populations when appropriate. ▪ The programming shall consist of four (4) phases of SU treatment and drug testing services, including recovery services. Requirements for completing each phase are based on components and milestones with flexibility for individualized treatment needs. ▪ Services are provided under a continuum of care model based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria for substance use treatment. Clients are referred to the appropriate level of care based on assessments and/or screening tools that utilize ASAM Criteria. On December 18, 2024, San Diego County implemented the Treatment Mandated Felony Act (i.e., California Health and Safety Code (HSC) 11395) through Proposition 36. This Act allows an individual with two or more prior convictions for certain offences to complete a treatment program developed by a drug addiction expert and approved by the court in lieu of a jail or prison sentence through a deferred entry of judgment. The Adult Drug Court programs may be best suited to serve these individuals to support successful care coordination and positive treatment outcomes as these programs work directly with our justice partners and serve only justice involved individuals. The County is interested in exploring innovative strategies and addressing potential challenges in providing the highest-quality services for individuals requesting treatment through HSC 11395 in the Adult Drug Court programs.
