Karen Freeman

Health and well-being outcomes for drug-dependent offenders on the NSW Drug Court programme

Given the centrality of drug treatment to the drug court framework, the proliferation of drug courts in the United States, and their emergence more recently in Australia, it is surprising that such little attention has been given to assessing their therapeutic effect. This evaluation aimed to assess the health and well-being of drug-dependent offenders diverted to the New South Wales Drug Court, and monitor changes in their health and well-being throughout 12 months of programme participation. The study consisted of baseline interviews with 202 offenders accepted into the programme between February 1999 and April 2000, and follow-up interview at 4, 8 and 12 months with participants who remained on the programme. Health and well-being was assessed at each follow-up using the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) the OTI social functioning scale, and self-reported spending as a proxy for illicit drug use. The health of male Drug Court participants prior to commencing the programme was significantly poorer than Australian population norms. The results provided evidence of significant and sustained improvements in health and well-being for the 51 participants who competed each follow-up interview. Furthermore, significant improvements were found for offenders who remained on the programme for at least 4 months but less than 12 months. However, the positive health outcomes are limited by the low programme retention rate. These results indicate that significant health outcomes can be achieved for at least some heavily drug-dependent, recidivist offenders through the drug court model. [Freeman K. Health and well-being outcomes for drug-dependent offenders on the NSW Drug Court programme.

Design and Implementation of Australia's First Drug Court

Abstract In 1999 the New South Wales government implemented an evaluated trial of the first drug court in Australia. This paper outlines the initial design and legislative framework of the Court, and the Courts operation over the first six months. For the benefit of policymakers and researchers, challenges that arose in the initial implementation and evaluation process are outlined. Although the Court is based on a North American model, some aspects of the court proved a challenge in the Australian context (such as the development of rewards and sanctions). Difficulties in implementation are outlined, including differences in orientation of a health and welfare perspective compared to a criminal justice perspective and the importance of adequate IT resources for evaluation purposes and for a ‘paperless’ court. In outlining these challenges this article concentrates on the initial implementation phase of a new policy initiative. Long-term evaluation of the project will determine the true success of the Court.