Evaluation of the Salt Lake County Adult Felony Drug Court : Final Report

The Salt Lake County Adult Felony Drug Court received a three year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to expand and enhance the drug court. Funding began in January 2003. The primary purposes of the grant were to increase the number of clients served, increase treatment slots, and enhance services provided in-house at Criminal Justice Services (CJS, the lead drug court agency). To accomplish this, funding was used to hire and/or retain case managers, therapists, and clerical support. In addition, with the SAMHSA funding CJS was able to reserve residential treatment slots at Salt Lake County Substance Abuse Services licensed providers and develop an in-house intensive outpatient (IOT) treatment program. The grant also included funds specifically set aside for evaluation of the enhancement and expansion and the overall effectiveness of the drug court. The objectives of this final evaluation report are to examine both process and outcome measures. Three interim reports were conducted during the grant period (March 2004, September 2004, and March 2005) that covered only process measures. This final report includes an update and expansion of the process evaluation covering the following: enhancement client characteristics at intake, treatment services received, judicial supervision, compliance, participation and retention, client satisfaction, during-program improvements in clients’ lives (such as living situation, employment, and health), and drug court professionals’ perspectives of the program. The outcome evaluation examines drug court’s impact on post-program recidivism, substance use, and quality of life, as well as the cost-benefit of the program.