The Adult Drug Court Planning Initiative (DCPI)

Drug Court Planning Initiative (DCPI)

Sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice, in collaboration with the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI) DCPI is designed for communities interested in developing an adult drug court program. The training is designed to fulfill three interconnected goals:

1. Educating teams about the basic components of drug court;
2. Providing teams with the skills necessary for successfully making the shift from standard case processing to drug court case processing; and
3. Working with teams to build their program to integrate court and treatment functions.

The Drug Court Planning Initiative is designed to assist jurisdictions in the planning and development of drug court programs. A team of NDCI staff and cadre of drug court practitioners will work with planning teams to develop their policy and procedure manual. Each interactive DCPI training session has been designed to familiarize participants with the building blocks of a drug court. Topics include, but are not limited to, team building, psychopharmacology, mission statement, goals and objectives, target population, treatment, community supervision, drug testing, relapse, incentives and sanctions, confidentiality and ethics, evaluation/MIS and sustainability. Participants will have an opportunity to learn from and work with actual drug court practitioners and subject-matter experts throughout the DCPI planning process and will be afforded numerous opportunities to network with their peers.

 

Participating jurisdictions must identify a team of professionals who will participate in distance-based technical assistance and attend one regional training event. All members of a planning team, including the judge, coordinator, prosecutor, defense counsel, treatment representative, community supervision representative, law enforcement and evaluator, must be able to attend a five-day training program to qualify for DCPI.

 

Adult DCPI Application Process

The FY 2010 Adult Application is NOW OPEN!

BJA, in partnership with the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI) developed the content of each DCPI program. In offering training and technical assistance through DCPI, BJA demonstrates a commitment to working with local jurisdictions to prevent and control substance abuse and crime. Representatives from each of these organizations will attend all DCPI events.

 

Up to 30 jurisdictions will be served through the Adult DCPI. Once capacity is reached, a waitlist will be initiated. Waitlisted teams will be accepted into the Adult DCPI as space becomes available. Funding for DCPI is contingent on the availability and amount of FY 2010 funding for the Drug Court Grant Program.

 

Jurisdictions will be selected to participate in a facilitated 6 month planning process. Each jurisdiction will be required to complete pre-training worksheets, attend one, five-day DCPI training program, maintain routine correspondence with program staff, and submit a drug court implementation plan/draft policy and procedure manual. Notification of training dates and locations will be provided by NDCI upon the teams' acceptance. DCPI training programs will be regionally located and will occur between March 2010 and May 2010.

DCPI is intended for jurisdictions in the planning stages of developing an adult drug court. Jurisdictions with operational drug courts are encouraged to access other OJP training and technical assistance resources that are targeted to this population.

 

Things you must know before applying for the Adult DCPI training:

• Submission of Application and Letter of Commitment
• Team Member Roles and Responsibilities
• Required Commitment
• Training Costs
• Contact Information

 

Submission of Application and Letter of Commitment

To apply, each interested jurisdiction must complete the on-line Application Form and submit a letter of commitment from the judge.

 

The Application Form can be downloaded and submitted on-line through the following link:

https://www.dcpi-application.org/Application/ApplicationStart.aspx.

 

The Letter of Commitment from the participating judge must be submitted via facsimile to Meghan Wheeler, NDCI Project Director at 804-412-2947. The letter must include the following:

• A clearly stated commitment that approved team members will attend the required training in its entirety.
• A list of agencies that will make up your team participating in the planning process.
• An expression of the team's commitment to the planning and development of your drug court.
• The expected responsibilities and resources the participating team member agencies will dedicate during the drug court planning process.

 

Team Member Roles and Responsibilities

To participate in Adult DCPI, each community must identify eight (8) individuals representing the following disciplines to form a Drug Court Planning Team:

• Drug Court Coordinator
• Judge
• Prosecutor
• Defense Counsel
• Treatment Representative
• Law Enforcement
• Probation/Community Supervision Representative
• Evaluator/Researcher

Upon acceptance into the training program, each participating team member must:

• Attend the entire week long training.
• Actively participate in all discussions and training breakouts.
• Abide by the Federal Travel Regulations and DCPI policies.
• Identify an appropriate substitute if the need arises.
• Complete all homework assignments and respond to all requests for information.
• Write and submit a Letter of Commitment.

In addition, the drug court coordinator must serve as the team point of contact for all DCPI coordination activities. This will include ensuring all relevant information is disseminated to team members in a timely fashion, responding to requests for information, and coordinating with all DCPI staff and faculty.

 

Required Commitment

BJA's investment in this training initiative is dependent upon active participation of all approved DCPI team members. In addition to attending the entire week long training, team members will be expected to work with project staff throughout the planning process and complete a number of pre and post training activities while at their home location.

 

DCPI participants will have regular contact with NDCI during the course of the 6 month planning process. Offsite trainings are expected to last 5 days and will start in March 2010. There will be one training at an offsite location where attendance of the entire eight member Drug Court Planning Team is essential and required. Jurisdictions that are unable or unwilling to fully participate in DCPI may forfeit their participation in future BJA training events.

 

Upon acceptance into the training program each participating team member must write and submit a letter of commitment that includes the information listed below.

• An expression of the agency's commitment to the planning and development of your drug court.
• The expected responsibilities and resources the participating team member's agency will dedicate during the drug court planning process.
• A clearly stated commitment that approved team member will attend the required training in its entirety.
• Indication that the team member has read and will abide by the Federal Travel Regulations and DCPI policies.

 

Training Costs

Lodging costs associated with required team members' participation in DCPI will be covered by BJA. Payment will occur through direct billing. All other costs are the responsibility of the team member as detailed in the Federal Travel Regulations and DCPI policies.

 

Travel Scholarships will be awarded to jurisdictions for training costs!

NDCI has been provided funding to award Travel Scholarships to defray the cost of airfare, ground transportation, parking, mileage, and per diem for approved jurisdictions. The application request for Travel Scholarships will begin after jurisdictions are approved for inclusion in DCPI. NDCI, in collaboration with BJA will review, approve and award scholarships.

 

Contact Information

For further information regarding the Adult DCPI Application Process and Training Program please contact the following:

 

National Drug Court Institute
4900 Seminary Road, Suite 320
Alexandria, VA 22311
703-575-9400
www.ndci.org

Brian Clubb, Project Director
703-575-9400 ext. 35
bclubb@ndci.org

• I am interested in learning more about the Adult Application Process.
• I am interested in accessing the Adult DCPI Resource Materials
• I am interested in submitting an Adult DCPI Application