Drafter
Clerk 06/13/2018
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AN ORDINANCE related to district court; allowing the use of county funds to provide incentive rewards with a financial value to participants in the therapeutic courts housed within district court as the district court budget permits; and adding a new section to K.C.C. chapter 2.68.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County district court administers the regional mental health court and regional veterans court and is in the beginning stages of planning a community court.
2. Mental health courts started in 1997 and veterans courts in 2008. Both courts, a type of problem-solving and therapeutic courts, are being implemented in jurisdictions throughout the country with over two hundred fifty mental health courts and approximately two hundred veterans courts in existence. Community courts started in 1993 and are being replicated throughout the country with several dozen courts in stages of planning and implementation.
3. These specialized, therapeutic courts and associated programs, as established by King County government and King County courts, are a proven means to change behavior, reduce recidivism, and increase productivity among program participants, thus saving taxpayer dollars in the short and long term.
4. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse: Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations Research Guide (September, 2007), a balance of rewards and sanctions encourages pro-social behavior and treatment participation. The contingency management approaches, utilized in treatment courts and evidence-based juvenile justice programs, require the provision of tangible incentive rewards, such as coffee cards, movie passes and similar rewards, and intangible incentive rewards such as praise and encouragement as rewards for constructive activities that are incompatible with crime and drug use, such as attending treatment, following program guidelines, attending school and obtaining employment. As is stated by a lead drug...
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