Nashua, New Hampshire

Overview

The Hillsborough County South Adult Drug Court provides intensive treatment and community-based supervision to justice-involved individuals with severe substance use disorder at high risk to engage in repeat criminal activity. The goal of the program is to reduce criminal recidivism and promote long-term recovery through effective substance use treatment and interventions to address other risk factors. The post-adjudication program serves individuals with felony charges who are required to successfully complete the program as a condition of their probation.

Admission and Target Population

The program’s target population is high-risk/high-need adults residing in the southern judicial district of Hillsborough County. Eligibility is determined using the Ohio Risk Assessment – Community Supervision Tool (ORAS-CST) for risk and the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory – 4 (SASSI-4), along with a clinical diagnostic assessment for substance use disorder. The program accepts individuals with violent offenses, although some charges are not eligible for treatment court sentencing. In situations where the prosecutor is not in agreement with a treatment court resolution to a case despite legal eligibility, a sentencing hearing is held.

Program Structure

The program is divided into five phases. Although each program phase targets a specific objective—such as program engagement, clinical stabilization, prosocial habilitation, etc.—each participant has an individualized case plan outlining the specific steps they need to take and the treatment and services indicated to support these steps.

The program is designed to last a minimum of 15 months, but participant needs and progress determine the actual length of participation in the program. Treatment effectiveness is monitored through frequent, random, observed drug testing. The court monitors participant progress through regularly scheduled court hearings and applies incentives and sanctions to modify behavior.

Using evidence-based treatment and curricula, program services include intensive outpatient treatment for substance use disorder, outpatient treatment, case management, and peer recovery coaching through a partnership with the local community mental health center and a local peer-based recovery organization. Participants with co-occurring disorders can access mental health services, including psychiatric treatment, functional support services, and crisis intervention as needed through programs at the community mental health center.

For participants in clinical need of detox, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, or medication for addiction treatment, referrals to outside providers are made with treatment court case managers and therapists collaborating on treatment and discharge planning.

Case management and peer recovery coaching focus on program engagement by addressing barriers to treatment and help motivate and connect participants to outside services designed to support long-term recovery, such as educational and vocational services, parenting support, community-based recovery/peer support groups, and prosocial recreational activities.