Statewide Training: Adult Treatment Court

 Who’s Behind the Curtain: How Coordinators Instill Change in Treatment Courts

Coordinators: do you ever feel alone or that no one has a clue as to what you do?Welcome to the world of treatment court coordinators and the many hats we wear to ensure that everything moves correctly. This session will explore the coordinator’s critical tasks and how you can use your position to instill change.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify core functions of the coordinator role.
2. Recognize the role data plays in decision making.
3. Explore techniques and processes to instill change.

Addiction and Psychopharmacology (also offered as Psychopharmacology)

This session outlines the effects of alcohol and drugs on the brain, the most recent research in the arena, and stresses the importance and effectiveness of treatment to combat addiction. You will learn the difference between use, misuse, and dependence/addiction, as well as develop appropriate and attainable expectations for participants in your treatment court program.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the short- and long-term neurological effects of alcohol and drug use and their implications for treatment.
2. Recognize the short- and long-term general effects of alcohol and other drug use on brain physiology and behavior.
3. Learn the difference between use, abuse, and dependence/addiction and begin to develop appropriate and attainable expectations for offenders in your treatment program.

Alternative Tracks in Your Treatment Court Program

Research has indicated that the treatment court model has the largest impact on high risk/high need participants. What about those at other risk and need levels? Does treatment court work for them? What happens to those defendants if they aren’t eligible for treatment court? Perhaps you’ve taken steps to implement validated risk and need tools for the impaired driving population. Perhaps you’ve also ensured a clinical assessment is conducted as part of the referral process to treatment court. The next step is to determine how to separate those populations to avoid mixing various levels of risk and need.

For jurisdictions seeking to respond to impaired drivers based on risk and need, using the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model is critical in determining appropriate programming for each individual. This session highlights the various alternative tracks and recommended phase structures to ensure your program produces the best outcomes for each of the risk-need quadrants.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn risk and need and the importance of good assessments.
2. Gain awareness of the latest research on programs with multiple tracks and the benefits of separating participants at different risk and need levels
3. Learn the key steps in creating multiple tracks in your treatment court.
4. Recognize how assessments and the RNR model are used to place participants into appropriate programming.
5. Identify potential barriers, necessary resources, and how developing tracks impacts program capacity.

Beyond Trauma-Informed Care: Becoming a Trauma-Responsive Court

This trauma training curriculum is specifically designed to meet the needs of judges, focusing specifically on judges and other court professionals. Topics include defining trauma; the extent of trauma in justice involved individuals; the impact of trauma on substance use, mental health, and behavior; secondary/vicarious trauma; and steps on becoming a trauma-informed court. Specific evidence-based screens, assessments, and treatments are also discussed. This workshop is interactive and participatory with time for questions and problem-solving.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn what trauma is and why it is an important component of treatment court programs.
2. Learn how pervasive trauma is in justice-involved persons, especially people with substance use and mental health disorders.
3. Identify steps courts can take to become trauma-informed, including incorporating evidence- based trauma screening, assessment, and treatment to improve outcomes.

Building a Strong Recovery Community in Rural Areas

Recovery is a person-driven process with many pathways to health. When implemented within a supportive structure, such as a recovery community, the process is more successful. This session will explore the importance of a recovery community and look at existing recovery support structures in your community.

Learning Objectives

1. Explore the factors that drive recovery care.
2. Learn about the hub and spoke model of integrated health systems.
3. Understand the role recovery housing plays in building a community.

Building a Strong Recovery Plan Through Work with the Family

Recognizing when a family needs support is important, but whether they get what they need is often impacted by how we, as service providers and court officers, communicate with them. Effective family engagement occurs when justice practitioners actively collaborate with the family network throughout their involvement with the court or the child welfare system. This session will discuss compassionate strategies and communication techniques that have been proven to be successful in achieving that engagement. It will further provide an opportunity to learn the value of incorporating family therapy into substance abuse treatment, as well as the value of seeing parents and involved family members as the experts in the own lives, all of which result in a stronger recovery.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn to distinguish between family psychoeducation, family integration, and family therapy.
2. Understand the value of incorporating family therapy into substance use treatment.
3. Provide a working definition of family engagement.
4. Recognize barriers to effective communication with families.
5. Describe compassionate, effective ways to communicate and engage the families

Building Ancillary Services into Your Treatment Court 

This session looks at the client’s needs to assist treatment court teams in identifying resources to support their life in recovery. Treatment court teams create a plan for what best meets the needs of the client; however, engaging the client is important so that they take ownership and are empowered to embrace recovery. The session looks at specific ancillary services needed to help ensure success in recovery.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify tools to help determine the client’s needs.
2. Understand how meeting the client’s needs reinforces a life in recovery.
3. Identify ancillary services needed to support someone in recovery.

Building and Maintaining Your Team 

This session focuses on how to effectively gain the support of critical justice stakeholders and enlist their participation as active team members, including the judiciary, district attorney/prosecutor, public defender/defense bar, community supervision, law enforcement, and community treatment providers. It further builds into how to sustain their participation through effective team communication, collaboration, and training.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define your program’s mission and goals to explain them effectively to stakeholders.
2. Learn to market the importance of participation by each stakeholder to gain buy-in.
3. Establish the initial expectations and responsibilities of each stakeholder.
4. Ensure sustainability through team wellness and education.

Client Engagement and Retention

Several factors have contributed to low participant numbers in treatment courts across the nation, and many continue to struggle with keeping participants engaged through program completion. Although enrollment and engagement are common barriers, there are things you can do to increase both with your participants. This session reviews multiple strategies, including changes in eligibility criteria, social marketing, increasing buy-in from partners and participants, and tools for engaging and connecting with your team and participants.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the factors that lead to low enrollment and lack of engagement
2. Learn strategies for finding new participants and keeping those you have engaged
3. Hear ways to enhance your program offerings using social marketing concepts to create materials highlighting program benefits, to bring greater voice to your participants and to create positive connections with them

Collaborative Case Planning

The ultimate goal of treatments courts is participant recovery. To achieve this, treatment courts must not only treat substance use or mental health disorders, but also target criminogenic needs. Treatment providers develop treatment plans and supervision officers and/or case managers create supervision case plans. This can inadvertently lead to overwhelming the participant (too many goals at once) or conflicting goals (addressing different priorities first).

Integrated case planning not only puts everyone on the same page, but uses the same sheet of paper. In this interactive session, the presenters (a clinician and probation officer) will provide cross training on: a) the domains of risk assessments, identifying criminogenic needs and drivers; b) the diagnosis from clinical assessments and the ASAM dimensions; and c) how the information from the assessments should be used to develop an integrated case plan. But the work doesn’t end there! Case plans are fluid and should be regularly discussed with the participant and during staffing; and updated as goals are completed and/or change. Additionally, the presenters will show how utilizing integrated case plans can provide opportunities to incentivize behavior change.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how to utilize both the treatment assessments and risk assessment to identify areas for intervention.
2. Learn how to help participants identify and develop SMART goals and strategies.
3. Learn how the use of integrated case planning creates opportunities for incentives, and provides the ability for the entire team to be involved in the participants’ progress and success.

Constitutional and Legal Summary (also presented as Law School 101)

Treatment courts must adhere to the constitutional and legal rights of its participants, and therefore treatment court professionals must develop a comprehensive understanding of what the law will and will not allow. This session will increase both the legal and clinical team members’ awareness and understanding of the legal princples that could put the court jeopardy. It will also explore how to view the law as a tool for success rather than an obstacle, how to face challenges relating to ethics, HIPAA, confidentiality, due process, 12-Step programs and the law, and other constitutional requirements. Finally, it will review how the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and current case law affect your treatment court.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify legal issues that occur in treatment courts.
2. Describe ethics laws that influence treatment court team member roles in the treatment court process.
3. Discuss current case law affecting treatment courts. 4. Recognize constitutional and due process issues that affect treatment court programs. 5. Identify how federal confidentiality regulations are applied in the treatment court setting.

Coping with the Death of a Participant 

Drug overdose is now the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States, and May 2019 through May 2020 represented the largest number of drug overdose deaths in a single year in our history. Many factors have caused a disruption of treatment services and recovery supports, which has left individuals increasingly isolated and has removed critical coping systems and supports. The data points to the inevitability that your court will experience at least one overdose fatality among your participants. This session will discuss the need to respond to this crisis in a coordinated, comprehensive, collaborative, and compassionate manner. Employing a prevention-focused, public health approach, we will cover communitywide prevention efforts, overdose education, response strategies, and various coping responses to employ following an overdose death. Several recommendations and resources will be provided, and there will be time for questions and answers at the close of the presentation.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn the nature and extent of the current drug overdose crisis, including some of the key factors responsible.
2. Learn and become familiar with prevention-focused, public health approaches to reducing drug overdose deaths.
3. Learn healthy ways you can help your team and participants navigate through a participant’s overdose death.

Co-Occurring or Mental Health Court: It’s the Same Thing, Right?

Co-Occurring Disorder Courts have a specialty docket for eligible individuals whose justice involvement has been exacerbated by co-occurring disorders (substance use disorder(s) and serious mental health disorder(s)). Mental Health Courts seek to improve the well-being of justice-involved individuals living with mental illness by linking them with court-supervised, community-based treatment. Eligible participants are those living with a mental illness that is related to their justice involvement and whose participation in the program will not create an increased risk to public safety. Some participants in Mental Health Court may have a substance use disorder as well. The question then becomes: which placement is correct: Co-Occurring Disorders Court or Mental Health Court?

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify the differences between Co-Occurring Courts and Mental Health Courts and the individuals each serves.
2. Participants will learn practical strategies for their teams to implement when working within these two courts.
3. Participants will learn evidence-based strategies and promising services for those with serious mental illness.

Coordinator 101

Coordinators are critical to the planning, maintenance, and evaluation of the treatment court. This means wearing many hats and fulfilling duties based on need, but what is the standard for being effective? This session will provide coordinators an overview of key areas of focus, provide new ideas, and a road map to improve your skills. Specifically, it will explore the core competencies of a treatment court coordinator, including case flow management, resource allocation, acquisition, budget and finance, visioning and strategic planning, building relationships, and program documentation.

Learning Objectives

1. Acknowledge the key roles the coordinator has within the treatment court team.
2. Explore different approaches to managing your program.
3. Take away ideas to implement into your program.

Criminogenic Thinking

Criminogenic Thinking refers to the patterns and internal dialogue that lead to criminal choices, behaviors, and activities. There are many factors that play a role in how our participants accept and normalize these behavioral patterns, all of which must be interrupted to create change. Attendees will learn how to identify this thinking, employ simple strategies, including cognitive behavioral interventions, and build motivation with those rooted in their criminal thinking.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify what criminogenic thinking is and how it impacts individuals.
2. Identify some of the challenges of addressing criminogenic thinking.
3. Discuss interventions that address criminogenic thinking and are designed to improve outcomes for criminal justice involved individuals

Crisis Intervention Officers as Part of the Team

Treatment court programs work with and provide services for a diverse group of people. Different life circumstances bring people to us for many different reasons. How we communicate with many of these participants can have a lasting impact on future criminal justice interactions, the individuals’ perception of self, and their willingness to trust the process that will provide access to services. The law enforcement community engagements should focus on maintaining public safety, building community support, and responding in a manner that is professional and designed to meet prevailing needs of the community. The CIT Model is grounded in the principles of dignity, understanding, kindness, hope, and dedication. All of which are cornerstones of interaction with participants in a treatment court program. One of the keys to successful interaction is how law enforcement communicates with participants. Communication is a process that has a sender, receiver, and message. Much of how we communicate is impacted by environment. CIT officers are trained to engage in active listening and processing information for content and meaning. Their engagements with individuals ‘models listening as well as being heard

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the key components of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model
2. Describe best practices for using a Crisis Intervention Team as a community engagement tool
3. Identify the benefits of using a Crisis Intervention Team as a community engagement tool with specialized populations

Developing Effective Treatment Plans for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders 

Persons with co-occurring illness (substance use disorder and mental illness) are in all types of adult treatment courts. Substance misuse is the most common and clinically significant co-morbid disorder among adults with severe mental illness. It is estimated that 70-74 percent of persons in the criminal justice system affected by co-occurring disorders. Co-occurring disorders can be difficult to diagnose due to the complexity of symptoms, as both may vary in severity. In many cases, people receive treatment for one disorder while the other disorder remains untreated. Early detection and treatment can improve treatment outcomes and the quality of life for those who need these services. Effective concurrent treatment planning is critical to positive outcomes both in treatment and in treatment court case-planning. The consequences of undiagnosed, untreated, or under-treated co-occurring disorders can lead to a higher likelihood of experiencing homelessness, recidivism and incarceration, medical illnesses, suicide, or even early death.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize the necessity of matching treatment approaches to the individual.
2. Recognize the necessity of providing a comprehensive continuum of treatment and ancillary services.
3. Learn the complex interactions between flexible treatment and case planning while maintaining integrity with the Adult Treatment Court Best Practice Standards.

Developing the Treatment Continuum (also presented as Treatment and Clinical Case Management)

This session discusses the importance of treatment in the treatment court model, the various approaches and methods of treatment, ways to continue treatment after an individual graduates, and the importance of continuing care to maintain a recovery lifestyle.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize clinical treatment services as the primary function of the treatment court model.
2. Learn the blending of primary clinical services with criminal justice case processing.
3. Recognize the necessity of providing a comprehensive continuum of treatment and ancillary services.
4. Recognize the necessity of providing continuing care after discharge from treatment court.

Do the Adult Treatment Court Best Practice Standards Apply to Other Types of Treatment Court Types? What Fits, What Might Fit, What Doesn’t Fit

The Adult Treatment Court Best Practice Standards are based on research performed in hundreds of adult treatment courts. Do these standards and specific best practices apply to any of the other types of treatment courts? What are the differences between the participants in adult treatment courts and the participants in other treatment courts (DWI courts, family treatment courts, juvenile treatment courts, mental health courts, etc.)? This session will explore the research-based best practices for adult treatment courts and how they apply, might apply, or don’t apply to other treatment court types. It will also discuss some of the latest research in other (non-adult) treatment court types and whether it supports the adult treatment court best practices.

Learning Objectives

1. Gain a deeper understanding of the treatment court model and the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards.
2. Learn about research on best practices for different types of treatment courts.
3. Learn about the practices that apply or do not apply across different populations.

Drug Testing 101

Effective drug testing in treatment court is essential to the overall success of the program. This presentation is designed to be a comprehensive review that provides information and strategies for building and maintaining a successful abstinence monitoring program. Collection strategies and result interpretation—two essential components of a credible testing program—will be discussed. Attendees will learn the reasons for testing, how to select clients for maximum abstinence surveillance, and what specimens yield the best results. Additional focus issues will include controlling sample tampering and the use of creatinine measurements, the application of EtG/EtS urine alcohol monitoring, the challenges of onsite testing, dispelling popular drug testing myths, and much more. It is intended to encourage practitioners to know more about drug testing than their clients.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn the basic principles of drug testing.
2. Gain knowledge of effective drug testing to ensure the success of abstinence monitoring.
3. Learn which drug testing myths are true and false.

Due Process and Contested Termination Hearings in Treatment Courts

The law is a tool for success and should not be viewed as an obstacle. Treatment court professionals must develop a comprehensive understanding of what the law will and will not allow. Learn how to face challenges relating to ethics, HIPAA, confidentiality, due process, 12-Step programs and the law, and other constitutional requirements as they relate to due process. Due Process considerations should be applied when issues of sanctions, terminations, and preventative detention arise in a treatment court program. Termination in treatment court should be rare, but it does occur. This session will discuss some of the key considerations when a program is considering participant termination.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize constitutional and due process issues that affect the treatment court program.
2. Recognize ethics laws that influence drug court team member roles in the treatment court progress.
3. Understand the key information to consider in determining whether termination is appropriate.

Engaging Law Enforcement in Treatment Court

This session is designed to educate law enforcement officers on treatment court programs and the role law enforcement plays on the treatment court team. Law enforcement officers will better understand treatment courts, collaborations, and interactions with team members and participants. Law enforcement officers will learn the core knowledge, skills, and information necessary to be effective as part of the treatment court team. Course modules will educate you on developing your role as a member of a treatment court team or your capacity to support safer communities through community engagement with the treatment court program in your jurisdiction.

Learning Objectives:

1. Increase understanding of law enforcement’s role in identifying target populations to refer to local treatment court programs.
2. Identify decision points along the Sequential Intercept Model where law enforcement plays a vital role in identification, referral services, diversionary resources, recovery capital needs, and treatment court referrals.
3. Build collaborations between law enforcement and the local treatment court program.

Identifying and Understanding Common Mental Health Disorders in Treatment Court (also presented as Mental Health 101)

This presentation will educate the layperson on the dynamics of many common co-occurring disorders that are often related to a substance use disorder. Furthermore, it will describe common behaviors that occur with mental health disorders and the different therapies that are used to treat those behaviors.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn the patterns of behavior that are common with certain mental health disorders.
2. Learn the different types of therapies that are commonly used for mental health disorders.
3. Learn the dynamics of co-occuring mental health disorders.

Impact of Motivational Interviewing for Treatment Court Professionals 

Motivational Interviewing is designed to help participants see what matters to them and helps them to be engaged, feel valued, and develop a vested interest in their long-term recovery planning and case management. Through Motivational Interviewing the participant has buy-in and a voice in identifying goals and a value system that gives them a major role in recovery planning.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn the principles and skills needed to deliver court responses effectively.
2. Gain an in-depth understanding of Motivational Interviewing as a technique to assist clients in changing their behavior.

Implementing Alternative Tracks in Treatment Court

The research is clear that traditional treatment courts are designed to address the needs of the high risk high need participant. As a result, many justice-involved individuals who would benefit from participation in treatment court are ineligible. The alternative track model provides targeted services to more people, resulting in improved outcomes and cost savings. This session will describe the basic alternative track model.

Learning Objectives:

1. Reinforce the importance of relying on risk/need assessments when determining the type of services and responses to individualized need
2. Develop a treatment court framework for each level of risk/need
3. Learn how to expand the use of the alternative track model to effectively address the needs of individuals who have other involvement in the justice system

Importance of Self-Care 

This presentation will educate treatment court professionals about the importance of self-care, including why self-care needs are important. You will learn steps to preserve your mental and physical health, including how to speak up for yourself, all of which boost self-esteem and produce a more productive work environment and work product.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize the warning signs of stress.
2. Learn self-care techniques and strategies

Improving Criminal Justice Responses – A Trauma-Informed Approach  

Although prevalence estimates vary, there is a consensus that high percentages of justice-involved people have experienced serious trauma throughout their life. The reverberating effects of trauma experiences can challenge a person’s capacity for recovery and pose significant barriers to accessing services, often resulting in an increased risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Trauma-informed criminal justice responses can help to avoid re-traumatizing individuals, and thereby increase safety for all, decrease recidivism, and promote and support recovery of justice-involved people with serious mental illness. Partnerships across systems can also help to link individuals to trauma-informed services and treatment for trauma. (Policy Research Associates-2020)

Learning Objectives

1. Increase understanding of trauma.
2. Create an awareness of the impact of trauma on behavior.
3. Develop trauma-informed responses.

Incorporating Peer Recovery Support Into Treatment Courts: Pratice Guidelines for the Field (also presented as Peer Recovery Supports in Treatment Courts)

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the purpose and function of the PRSS within the treatment court setting.
2. Gain knowledge of state certification processes and the extent to which PRSS are used within the treatment court field.
3. Review and gain an understanding of the new All Rise PRSS Guidelines.

Intent vs Impact: Are We Set Up to Fail?

Treatment court practitioners want the best for the people they serve. Using a variety of tools, resources, and services enables the team to respond to an individual’s specific needs, thereby providing the greatest chance for a successful outcome. However, having a systematic (i.e., treating everyone the same) and inflexible approach in responding to a person’s needs may have an impact that differs from the intent. Sometimes the best intentions miss their mark; other times, they have a negative impact. A team must understand how to respond to behaviors in a way that doesn’t set up the program or the individual to fail. This session will examine the common missteps in providing treatment, incentivizing participation, creating case plans and court requirements, determining the costs of services, and responding to behavior.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the difference between a systematic treatment approach and individualized treatment, and the importance of alliance and adherence in treatment programming and case management.
2. Recognize the need for teams to be flexible in creating and adjusting case plans and responding to behavior.
3. Identify demographic characteristics that impact program rules, requirements, and case planning, and how ignoring these factors may set up a participant to fail.

Preventing and Managing Professional Burnout

This presentation will explore the frequently overlooked issue of impairment and burnout in helping professionals. All of us seek to balance the stresses and strains of our private lives with the need to perform effectively at work. Even in tough times most of us can “pull it together” long enough to get through our day; however, there are times when issues such as excessive duties, divorce, disease, drinking, drugging, depression or other dysfunction rob us of our ability to do our jobs and/or find joy in doing so. Whether the problem results from an acute incident or from a chronic problem that has reached the breaking point, the consequences can be life and livelihood threatening. This presentation is essential for those who fear they may be impaired; want to know the warning signs of impairment; want to know how to avoid becoming impaired; or want to know how best to support co-workers or loved ones who are struggling.

Learning Objectives

1. Know the warning signs of professional impairment and burnout and learn prevention strategies.
2. Understand the “impairment continuum” and the most common manifestations and causes of impairment.
3. Develop strategies for coping with impairment to facilitate a return to full fitness for duty.

Professional Self-Care and Compassion Fatigue

Research has suggested that licensed and certified addiction counselors have the highest rate of ethics violations, compared to other human service disciplines, such as social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. This presentation identifies some of the unique challenges that addiction counselors face in providing ethical care, as well as ethical dilemmas that are common in treatment court practice. Some of the most common ethics violations for all human service professionals are for egregious acts, such as sexual exploitation. Therefore, this presentation explores the taboo areas of ethics, such as sexual attraction within the counseling relationship, unavoidable (non-sexual) dual relationships, and professional impairment. Additionally, the risk and protective factors associated with ethics violations are identified and suggestions are provided on how to reduce ethical malpractice. This presentation has a strong clinical focus for those who treat substance use and mental health disorders, but implications for all treatment court professionals, such as judges and probation officers, are discussed.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify which human service profession has the highest rate of ethics violations.
2. Explore the personal and professional factors that contribute to poor self-care and compassion fatigue, potentially resulting in harmful ethics violations.
3. Offer recommendations on how treatment court professionals can create a culture that promotes self-care and ethical practice.

Prosecutor and Defense Working Together Effectively (co-presented)

1. Identify standards of conduct for prosecutors and defense attorneys in treatment courts.
2. Learn how to advocate for the client within the non-adversarial principle of treatment court.
3. Review best practice standards from the attorney’s perspective.

Recovery Capital and Collaborative Case Management

1. Explain the research finding on the importance of assessing and building personal, social, and community capital to strengthen long-term recovery beyond the treatment court program.
2. Learn how to move these concepts into practice throughout their program, with a specific focus on applying the recovery capital framework in staffing and case management.
3. Teams will learn how to move these concepts into practice throughout their program, with a specific focus on applying the recovery capital framework in staffing and case management.

Recovery Management: Helping People Move from Active Addiction to Lasting Recovery (also presented as Understanding Recovery Management)

Recovery is more than abstinence. Recovery is more than remission. Recovery is a process of change through which individuals achieve remission from substance use disorder (SUD), improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. Research demonstrates that recovery is not only possible, it’s probable. Most people living with SUD will eventually achieve stable, long-term recovery. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same likelihood of moving from addiction to recovery. This session will explore the critical steps in achieving stable recovery, the factors that differentiate those who recover from those who do not, and how treatment courts can help.

Learning Objectives

1. The essence and characteristics of addiction and recovery.
2. Five essential actions steps that anyone seeking recovery must accomplish.
3. How a person’s capacity for stable recovery is measurable and able to be improved through effective treatment and recovery management.

Treat with RISKpect: What Clinicians Need to Know about Justice-Involved Individuals

The Adult Treatment Court Best Practice Standards state that treatment courts are more likely to be effective if they have substantial experience working with justice-involved populations. A significant percentage of substance use disorder treatment programs do not offer specialty services for high-risk and high-need persons involved in the criminal justice system. This session will take a deep dive into the fundamental principles of risk and need responsiveness (RNR) within the context of clinical treatment by exploring ways to identify and address specific risk factors and the needs of individuals. Additionally, the session will provide practical strategies emphasizing developing individualized treatment plans while maximizing engagement and minimizing risk for recidivism or treatment failure.

Learning Objectives

1. Gain practical skills and strategies to enhance the effectiveness of clinical treatment by applying the RNR principles.
2. Develop strategies for matching interventions with risk levels and individual needs.
3. Explore ethical considerations and challenges in implementing RNR Principles in clinical practice.

Treatment Doesn’t Treat People, People Treat People

Outcomes are a combination of technical aspects (treatment approaches) but also relational aspects (how we think about participants and how we behave towards them). Research finds it matters greatly how you approach and talk with program participants. Judges, team members and providers can extend relational skills that improve Specialty Court outcomes. Join this session to learn how emerging research tells us relational factors account for more towards behavior change outcomes. With everyone focused on the end-result of sobriety and preventing recidivism, join this session to unpack how we get there. The relational mindset says we don’t strive to win the victory; we strive to be the victory through our approach.

Learning Objective

1. Describe at least three relational aspects that positively influence outcomes.
2. Differentiate between technical aspects to outcomes and relational aspects to outcomes.
3. Describe how a sole focus on outcomes could dehumanize treatment.

Treatment Providers Working Effectively with the Team

It is no surprise that treatment courts would not be successful without quality treatment providers and teammates! This presentation will focus on the critical role of the treatment provider on the team, including roles and responsibilities, an exploration of the clinical services that should be offered, more effective ways to communicate during staffing, and maintaining ethical boundaries. The discussion will also include looking at various issues including confidentiality, effective treatment approaches, the importance of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), potential conflicts, dealing with relapse, etc. The discussion will help treatment providers work effectively within the treatment court setting while providing the best care to their patients.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand team roles, including the responsibilities of the treatment provider
2. Learn best practices for treatment providers
3. Review the importance of MOUD in working with treatment court participants

Understanding the Continuum of Care

This session outlines the effects of drug and alcohol on the brain. It discusses the most recent research in the area and stresses the importance and effectiveness of treatment to combat drug addiction. Additionally, the session looks at the range of treatment responses and how they should be applied to meet the unique needs of participants at different risk levels.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how trauma is defined and the different category/types. 2. Learn the impact of trauma.
2. Identify some screening tools that are commonly used to identify trauma.
3. Identify evidence-based treatment being used to treat people with trauma

What Probation Officers and Judges Need to Know About Evidence-Based Probation Services (Judge and Probation co-present)

This segment will explore the critical role of evidence-based probation services, unraveling their effectiveness and significance in ensuring compliance and support. The faculty will discuss core correctional practices and Motivational Interviewing in supervision, as well as from the bench. In addition, attendees will better understand how to apply incentives, sanctions, and services adjustments as they work with people impacted by substance use disorder.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the cognitive process that can lead to risky behavior and how to disrupt that behavior.
2. Identify motivational Interviewing practices that can be used from the bench.
3. Explain the application of incentives, sanctions, and service adjustments.
4. Describe common barriers and challenges each discipline faces when working with the treatment court population.
5. Identify effective strategies each discipline can use to overcome these barriers and challenges.
6. Negotiate obstacles within the context of the prosecutor-defense counsel for the betterment of the team and participant outcomes

When Incentives and Sanctions Don’t Work: Responding to Addiction-Driven Noncompliance

Incentives and sanctions, also known as contingency management, are essential to treatment court success. When properly used, they are a powerful tool for improving client behavior and program outcomes. Treatment courts achieve better outcomes when practitioners understand the science behind behavior management and apply the principles. The research is clear—reliably impacting participant behavior requires both consistent reinforcement of positive behaviors and reliable responses to undesirable behaviors. Nonetheless, despite our best intentions (and perhaps the best intentions of the participants), sometimes incentives and sanctions don’t work. For some participants, our responses to behavior seem to have no impact. To truly change behavior, we must understand and respond in ways consistent with decades of research and achieve the desired outcome. This requires understanding who the individual is, what risks and needs they present, and setting up programming that carries the best chance of lasting behavior change. We discuss the essential elements of effective behavior modification in a treatment court and reveal what actions a program should consider when its efforts appear futile.This session will examine the difference between compliance and behavior change, effective practices in responding to behavior, and setting up programming based on the individual’s risk and need.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the science underlying incentives, sanctions, and other responses in treatment courts.
2. Understand the essential elements of effective behavior modification in treatment courts.
3. Discuss when contingency management doesn’t work and actions a program can take to address those causes of failure.

Working with Challenging Team Members

This session will provide conference attendees with practical skills and applications to improve their effectiveness in engaging with participants exhibiting resistance and other challenging behaviors by taking a fearless inventory of our individual and collective practices; team members can identify and implement strategies to more effectively align with participants to develop trust, instill hope, and improve outcomes for participants and their court.

Learning Objectives

1. Increase team members’ ability to recognize and roll with resistance; and effectively respond to difficult behavior.
2. Increase team members’ ability to apply communication theory perspectives to their work in treatment courts.
3. Increase team members’ understanding of the Stages of Change and ability to use motivational interviewing to foster change.

Working with Complex Cases in Treatment Court

Evidence-based practices make sense and work, but they can be difficult to implement on a daily basis, especially with the high-risk, high-need population. During this session, we will discuss several cases from adult treatment court programs involving participants who have struggled with program requirements and whose behavior has been especially challenging for the treatment court team to manage and address successfully. The session will discuss whether sanctions were appropriate, whether termination was appropriate , and make recommendations.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn to identify treatment court participants who require close examination for potential treatment adjustments and contingency management options to fit their complex circumstances.
2. Learn how trauma may manifest in courtroom settings and how to adjust accordingly.
3. Learn about options in lieu of termination that may produce success where participants progress has been slowed.