A statewide drug court needs assessment: Identifying target counties, assessing readiness

The purpose of this project was to conduct a statewide needs assessment in order to determine the counties in the State of Kentucky in which a Drug Court program is needed and feasible. The assessment was conducted in two phases. Phase I focused on secondary data collection and analysis by county to identify counties to target in Phase II. Phase II focused on the feasibility of, and community readiness of, implementing a Drug Court program in the counties identified as being most in need of a Drug Court program. Results of Phase I indicated that of 107 counties included in the study (out of 120 counties in Kentucky) 12 were identified for further assessment. Results of Phase II indicated that, of the 12 counties identified for further assessment, four counties were ready to move toward an implementation of a Drug Court program by applying for a planning grant. Four counties were close to being ready to apply for a planning grant, but needed further information about Drug Court programs. Two counties indicated they could utilize extensive information about a Drug Court program but have Judges that were supportive of the idea. About half of the counties in each category had adequate community resources and half had more limited resources. Several county indicators suggested that a juvenile Drug Court program may be needed. Finally, two counties were not able to consider a Drug Court program at the time of this study. This needs assessment provides a data-driven procedure for determining counties to target resources for implementing a Drug Court program. This approach can be adapted to other areas for Drug Court needs assessments.