Madison county 26TH jdrc expansion project - past and current limitations of the 26TH judicial district recovery court have suppressed overall program enrollment, resulting in lost opportunities and…

Madison county 26TH jdrc expansion project - past and current limitations of the 26TH judicial district recovery court have suppressed overall program enrollment, resulting in lost opportunities and unmet need for veterans. At the same time, there is potential to expand treatment services, recovery supports, and harm reduction efforts to current and future court program participants. The 26TH jdrc will use the grant funds to develop a multi-component initiative for recovery court participants, particularly participants who are veterans. Specifically, the plan is to: 1) offer recovery court participants, including those with a veteran status, the continuation of family centered services; 2) expand recovery support and harm reduction services dedicated solely to veterans; 3) expand the current recovery court veterans track into a fully state-sanctioned veterans treatment court for justice involved veterans in the madison, henderson, and chester TRI-county area; and 4) expand the space used for programming purposes. The 26TH judicial district recovery court (veterans track) serves a population of 144,232, which is 2% of the state's total population, and the proposed catchment area covers almost 1,363 square miles, or 3.3% of the state's total area. The area of the proposed project is considered mainly rural in relation to the rest of the state, and multiple barriers exist for residents due to that ruralness. Across the three counties, an average of almost 97% of the population is white alone (78.6%) or black or african american alone (18.3%), and the largest hispanic population is in madison county (4.1%), which is somewhat below the statewide rate (5.7%). Veterans account for roughly 7% of the total population of the recovery court's catchment area, or just over 7,800 veterans. Working with the families and other support members of individuals with substance use disorder or CO-occurring disorders is a proven practice for healing individuals from a holistic perspective. Continuation of the 26TH judicial district recovery court's family centered services program is in jeopardy following soon-to-expire funding. The main reason to maintain these services is because they work, according to recovery court participants, judges, and staff. Without linking long-term success for recovery court participants in dealing with their substance use disorders or CO-occurring disorders to positively involving their families and other support persons, a key building block is lost. To help better achieve that link for the 26TH judicial district recovery court participants, the court's expansion efforts offered through this grant will strive to meet the following goals: 1) expand the availability, quality, and coordination of programming options for veteran-status clients with substance abuse disorders and CO-occurring disorders; 2) increase the status of the current recovery court veterans track; and 3) increase the number of veterans' family and/or support members receiving evidence-based family-focused services. Within those goals, the key objectives are: 1) continuously increase the annual % of target population veterans who access the veterans treatment court option; 2) increase the number of veteran court participants successfully completing the program leading to the removal of barriers by at least 10% annually; 3) obtain state certification as a veterans treatment court by december 2025; and 4) increase the number of family/support members entered into family centered support services by 5% annually. Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected throughout the life of the program, and a process, impact and outcome evaluation will be conducted.