NCJ Number
177394
Date Published
1999
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This report discusses the need for additional research on drug courts, describes the practical considerations involved in such research, and defines the four research priorities determined at a September 1998 meeting to be immediately crucial to the drug court field.
Abstract
The 2-day meeting that developed the research recommendations was convened by the National Drug Court Institute in partnership with the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The meeting noted that drug court research is desirable if it is appropriate and applicable to the entire criminal justice field, will help improve programs and bring about success, will have successful outcomes that appeal to funders, is not duplicative, and addresses major questions asked by practitioners and policy-makers. It defined the following four research priorities: (1) assessing the structural design of drug court programs, (2) evaluating the effectiveness of different treatment modalities, (3) assessing the appropriateness of target populations, and (4) evaluating the outcomes of drug court programs. It also noted that focusing on these research priorities offers many benefits, including expanding the knowledge base, promoting with more certainty the crucial factors of drug court programs, and promoting treatment or a treatment combination that is effective with this target population. Chart and appended list of advisory committee members and lists of existing drug court evaluations, evaluation resources, and Internet resources