21st Judicial District Court ADULT DRUG COURT

BACKGROUND

In 1997, the Louisiana State Legislature recognized the need “to reduce the incidence of alcohol and drug use, alcohol and drug addiction, and crimes committed as a result of alcohol and drug use and alcohol and drug addiction.” LA Revised Statute RS 13:5301 was enacted for the purpose of establishing “a program to facilitate the creation of alcohol and drug treatment divisions in the various district courts of this state.”

DRUG AND SPECIALTY COURTS WORK

In 2022, there were 71 operational specialty courts in Louisiana. Since the inception of Drug Courts and Specialty Courts in Louisiana, more than 18,580 participants have successfully completed a program. These graduates have gone on to live full, productive, and sober lives.

94% of Drug and Specialty Court graduates remained free of new convictions for 3 years after graduation, for a recidivism rate of 6%. This is much lower than the recidivism rates for those sentenced to traditional criminal justice interventions.

According to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), for every $1.00 invested in drug courts, communities receive an average of $3.36 in benefits. Additionally, in 2018, 46 Louisiana Drug Court participants gave birth to drug-free babies, which is a cost savings of $11,500,000. Since the inception of Drug Courts, there have been a total of 756 drug-free births, which has resulted in a savings of $189,000,000. (Medical and related expenses are estimated at $250,000 per drug-addicted baby in the first year of life per the Office of Justice Systems, 1997).