Treatment Drug Court Service Enhancement Project - Hardin County

The Hardin County Drug Court Service Enhancement Project seeks to enhance clinical services to be offered within the already existent Adult Treatment Drug Court. The goals for this project include: (I) To enhance services offered to bettcr develop an effective. comprehensive system of care to help individuals with substance abuse problems involved within the criminal justice systcm become higher functioning parents. employees. and citizens: and (2) To enhance services to increase abstinence and decrease recidivism among program participants as a way of enhancing future functioning potential. Hardin County is located in central Kentucky. At the present level of funding, individuals are not receiving the needed level of clinical services. In the upcoming fiscal year. this Treatment Drug Court will receive decreased funding from critical partners (approximately $100,000) inevitably resulting in a loss of staff and ability to provide even basic services. Given the unique and specific needs of this Treatment Drug Court, project objectives include: increasing intensive assertive community treatment for individuals with substance abuse problems, increasing staffing support (e.g., counselor/case manager) to Hardin Drug Court to allow for enhanced treatment activities (individual/group counseling) as well as more case management services. developing a complete array of substance abuse treatment and recovery support services for Hardin County Drug Court participants (i.e., residential treatment, intensive outpatient, mental health, case management/wraparound, and psycho-education), and developing a complete array of services and treatment plans that teach social and interpersonal skills. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) hus been selected as the evidence-based practice to achieve project goals/objectives. ACT was determined to be a good fit for this project because it addresses fragmented systems of care by a more coordinated effort and focuses on a continuous care strategy. ACT is well-suited for the Drug Court treatment team approach (Stein & Santos, 1998). This project will serve 135 clients across the three project years (45 - Year 1; 45 - Year 2; 45 - Year 3)