CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
                  CITY COUNCIL AGENDA



  Agenda Date:        November 7, 2022

  Action Required:    Approve Resolution

  Presenter:          Susan Morrow - Offender Aid and Restoration, Christie Cash - Offender Aid
                      and Restoration

  Staff Contacts:     Krisy Hammill, Director of Budget

  Title:              Resolution to Appropriate Funds for the Charlottesville/Albemarle Adult
                      Drug Treatment Court Grant Award - $240,000 (2nd reading)


Background
The City of Charlottesville, as fiscal agent for the Charlottesville/Albemarle Adult Drug Treatment
Court, has received a Supreme Court of Virginia Drug Treatment Court Grant in the amount of
$240,000. the grant funds may be expended for operations of the Charlottesville Albemarle Drug
Treatment Court Program, which is operated by Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR). The City of
Charlottesville serves as fiscal agent for the Drug Treatment Court Docket Grant.

Discussion
In its twenty-fifth year of operation, the Charlottesville/Albemarle Adult Drug Treatment Court is a
supervised 12 month drug treatment program that serves as an alternative to incarceration for
offenders. Drug Treatment Court is a specialized docket within the existing structure of the court
system given the responsibility to handle cases involving non-violent adult felony offenders with
moderate to severe substance use disorders. The program uses the power of the court to assist
non-violent offenders to achieve recovery through a collaborative system of intensive supervision,
drug testing, substance abuse treatment, and regular court appearances.

The total program budget is $371,595.00 and includes three funding sources:

      Supreme Court of VA - $240,000
      City of Charlottesville: $75,947, which has already been appropriated for FY23
      Albemarle County: $55,648, which has already been appropriated for FY23


Alignment with City Council's Vision and Strategic Plan
This relates to providing support for persons interacting with the legal or criminal justice system and
the City of Charlottesville’s priority Safety/Criminal Justice. Drug Court directly affects the community
by reducing recidivism among Drug Court participants and graduates. Additionally, Drug Court
mitigates risk by reducing drug and alcohol use among program participants and graduates.
Reduction of drug and alcohol use fosters participant rehabilitation, public safety, and participant
accountability; all of which are factors in helping the community achieve its stated goals. Reduced
recidivism results in reduced public cost associated with re-arrest and incarceration, a reduction in
potential victims of crime, and overall enhanced quality of life for community residents. As the writers
of the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards state, “Drug Courts improve communities by
successfully getting justice-involved individuals clean and sober, stopping drug-related crime,
reuniting broken families, … and preventing impaired driving” Not only is Drug Court an effective
agent of change, it is an extremely cost effective approach. Numerous meta-analyses have
concluded that Drug Courts produce an average return on investment of $2 to $4 for every $1
invested. Because of the above, ensuring that the 25 year old Drug Court program remains available
to residents of the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County will help the community achieve its
goals.

Community Engagement
The Drug Treatment Court is a direct service provider and is engaged daily with non-violent criminal
offenders with drug driven crimes who are at a high level of risk for reoffending due to active
addictions and long standing patterns of criminal behavior. By collaborating with the Court system,
Region Ten Community Services Board, Addiction Allies, and the Sheriff’s department, the Drug
Treatment Court provides these offenders with a highly structured, rigorously supervised system of
treatment and criminal case processing that results in a significant reduction in recidivism rates for
program participants and graduates. Participants gain access to the Drug Treatment Court through
referrals from police, probation, magistrates, defense attorneys and other local
stakeholders. Participants have active criminal cases pending in the Circuit Court. If they
successfully complete the program which takes a minimum of 12 months, participants may have their
pending charges reduced or dismissed. If participants are unsuccessful and have to be terminated
from the program, they return to court to face their original charges. Successful Drug Treatment
Court participants return the community’s investment in them by maintaining full time, tax paying
employment, providing for and taking care of their children and families including paying off back
child support, behaving as good role models in the community, and supporting the recovery
community in Charlottesville.

Budgetary Impact
None

Recommendation
No additional City funding is required, because the City’s required match for this grant ($75,947) was
appropriated as part of the FY 2023 Council Approved Budget as part of the City’s contribution to
Offender Aid and Restoration.

Alternatives
Council could decline to approve the grant award.

Attachments
1.   Drug Court Resolution_October 17. 2022