Warren county, virginia, and shenandoah county, virginia, are applying for funding to establish two new adult drug treatment courts in the northern shenandoah valley region of virginia

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance is providing a $900,000 Project Grant award under the Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program (CFDA 16.585) to the County of Warren, Virginia to establish two new adult drug treatment courts in the Northern Shenandoah Valley region. The goal is to reduce the recurrence of drug and alcohol-related crime and recidivism through the provision of evidence-based substance use treatment, judicial supervision, and enhanced community services. Collectively, the two courts intend to serve 128 high-risk, high-need, non-violent adult offenders with substance use disorders over the 4-year grant period. The proposed courts will utilize evidence-based assessment instruments and align operations with national best practices to promote racial equity and serve high-poverty, rural communities impacted by the opioid crisis.

The two regions are leading the state in rural opioid use, distribution, and overdose deaths. In 2019, warren county had a drug overdose mortality rate that was 234 percent of the statewide rate in virginia and 195 percent of the nationwide rate. Drug-related crime has escalated in parallel, outpacing limited local resources. Regionally, there are currently no community-based programs for HR/HN offenders with substance use and/or CO-occurring disorders. To address these issues, warren county (wcadtc) and shenandoah county (scadtc) are seeking to implement two new post-adjudication adult drug treatment courts designed to coordinate evidence-based substance use treatment with judicial support and enhanced community-based services. To date, each advisory committee has launched a communitywide effort to support the court and has taken significant steps toward implementation. Both court dockets are currently under review with the virginia state supreme court. In 2022, both sites completed the adult drug court planning initiative (adcpi) training grant from the national drug court institute. Collectively, the two courts intend to serve 128 participants during the 4-year grant period. Eligible participants must be HR/HN, nonviolent, nonsexual adult offenders. Courts will utilize evidence-based assessment instruments to determine risk, need, substance abuse, and moud diagnosis prior to program entry. The goal of both courts is to reduce the reoccurrence of drug and alcohol related crime and recidivism through provision of substance abuse treatment and non-adversarial judicial and prosecutorial interaction. Court operations manuals are aligned with national association of drug court professionals (nadcp) 10 key components and best practice standards for adult drug treatment courts. This proposal promotes racial equity and the removal of barriers to access and opportunity for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality. They also serve high-poverty, rural regions. Courts will work with experienced program evaluators to assess program fidelity and effectiveness and will utilize feedback to improve services and ensure alignment with evidence-based practices. There are no pending federal or state applications to support these programs.