NCJ Number
177392
Date Published
1999
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This monograph examines Federal confidentiality laws and their application to drug courts; the discussion aims to help drug courts implement procedures that will both satisfy Federal confidentiality requirements and meet practitioners' need to share information.
Abstract
The discussion notes that drug courts are required to comply with State and Federal confidentiality laws. Drug court practitioners should recognize both the valuable function that those laws serve and their impact on the operation of drug courts. Most conflicts between confidentiality laws and drug court procedures can be resolved through the use of consent forms that are drafted and used in accordance with the regulations implementing Section 290dd-2 of the United States Code. Finally, although consent is a useful tool, drug courts should also be willing to modify their procedures to accommodate confidentiality requirements, where doing so will further the court's goals. Awareness of these principles should prevent problems that would result for the failure to comply with confidentiality laws. Footnotes and appended list of issues arising in family and juvenile drug courts, sample waiver forms, table of contents of the Federal regulations implementing Section 290dd-2, and related information