THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY GRELL, MARSICO, CALTAGIRONE AND SHAPIRO, MAY 10, 2011

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, MAY 10, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing May 2011 as "Drug Treatment Court Month" in

Pennsylvania.

WHEREAS, Since the founding in 1997 of the Philadelphia

Treatment Court, 54 treatment courts have been successfully

implemented in this Commonwealth as a way to address nonviolent

crime which involves or results from drug and alcohol dependency

of adult and juvenile offenders; and

WHEREAS, Drug treatment court programs utilize intensive

judicial supervision, mandatory substance abuse treatment,

frequent drug and alcohol testing, escalating sanctions combined

with positive incentives and offender accountability to break

the cycle of addiction, thereby reducing recidivism and

promoting public safety; and

WHEREAS, Studies of the outcome of offenders who have

successfully completed a drug treatment court program have

demonstrated that their rate of recidivism can be reduced by as

much as 35% compared to those sentenced through the traditional

criminal justice system, while as many as 75% of successful

participants typically remain arrest free two years after

graduating from the program; and

WHEREAS, The success of drug treatment courts has been the

result of hard work and dedication among judges, prosecutors,

defense attorneys, treatment professionals, law enforcement,

correctional personnel, researchers and educators, national and

community leaders working in collaboration to address the

problems of addiction and its impact on the safety of their

communities; and

WHEREAS, Drug treatment courts have provided an alternative

to incarceration, thereby reducing the burden on taxpayers,

while transforming the lives of addicted offenders and

decreasing the tangible and intangible costs that crime imposes

on victims, on families and on our society; and

WHEREAS, The drug treatment court model should be emulated

and encouraged throughout this Commonwealth; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the

month of May 2011 as "Drug Treatment Court Month" in

Pennsylvania, commend the practitioners and participants who

make drug treatment courts work and recognize the significant

contributions that drug treatment courts make in reducing drug

usage and crime in this Commonwealth.