Bill Text: PA HR275 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizing May 2011 as "Drug Treatment Court Month" in Pennsylvania.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2011-05-11 - Adopted (190-0) [HR275 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-HR275-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1818
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 275 Session of2011
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
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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.
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