To be accepted in drug court, participants must plead guilty to their crime and volunteer for this highly structured treatment program. Both parent and child have to sign a contract with the court that mandates school attendance, regular drug testing, drug counseling, self-help groups, and judicial review. In our series, we will meet a group of teenagers who are in various stages of the drug court program. Some are struggling to stay sober and may violate probation, others are staying clean and are back in school, and a few have graduated and are moving on with their lives. We will also follow the dedicated drug court staff and probation officers as they monitor the participants' actions.
Drug court is a nine-month program that is broken down into three phases.
The first phase is about recovery and responsibility to self. Each person has to address his addiction by attending self-help groups, drug counseling, and weekly drug testing. The drug court then convenes every two weeks and each participant goes before the judge and is held accountable for his or her actions. Phase two and three add community service and job training to the list of responsibilities. Through this system, the juvenile is taught how to control his or her addiction and also learns a variety of skills that contribute to the betterment of the community.