Baltimore County Juvenile Drug Court (BCJDC)
Problems addressed
Recidivism
Drug trafficking
Juvenile delinquency
Drug abuse
Effectiveness

Promising

.

.

.

.

.

Promising

Want to know more about this classification? Check out our methodological manual.

Life periods served
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Where the program was applied
Courts of justice
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a program to monitor adolescents with problems associated with substance use. The goal is to reduce drug abuse and criminal behavior, and to prevent the entry of these young individuals into the traditional justice system.
The intervention includes therapy sessions, supervision meetings, drug testing, relapse and recidivism prevention, reinsertion into the job market, family support, and access to other resources in the community.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that, after two years of program follow-up, participating youth experienced a reduction in drug abuse, in the average number of rearrests on drug trafficking charges (about 0.35) compared to those in the control group (about 0.55), and in arrests on trafficking charges (25% of them were rearrested on drug charges, compared to 35% in the control group). Reductions were also observed in the overall rates of arrests for charges for any type of crime. These reductions were statistically significant [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Lucas, L. M., Lambarth, C. H., Herrera Allen, T., Waller, M. S., Carey, S. M. & Finigan, M. W. (2010). Baltimore County Juvenile Drug Court Outcome and Cost Evaluation. Annapolis, MD. Office of Problem-Solving Courts. www.courts.state.md.us/opsc/dtc/pdfs/evaluationsreports/baltimorecounty…

Information source