- Home
- Law & Justice
- Yakima County Courts
- Superior Court
- Therapeutic Courts
Therapeutic Courts
Components of the Drug Court Program
- Individualized treatment program emphasizing outpatient treatment
- Intensive drug court supervision and attendance
- Program follow-up and aftercare
- Alcoholic Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA) meeting participation
- Education, vocational, community services and employment assistance
- Frequent drug testing
- Personal accountability is required
- Confidentiality is maintained
- Minimum fees are imposed
- Graduation from drug court program
- Dismissal of pending felony charge(s)
The Drug Court Program is a minimum of 18 months intensive program for nonviolent felons who are committed to changing their lives. Overcoming drug addiction and criminal behavior is accomplished through gaining skills in honest, responsible living and through personal support from the Drug Court team who is committed to your recovery. This program is completely voluntary. Upon graduating from Drug Court, your pending charge(s) will be dismissed by the Drug Court judge. There will be no conviction or loss of rights. Once accepted by Drug Court, you have a 2 week time period to choose either to remain in drug court or return to the regular criminal process.
Program Phases
There are 5 phases in the program. You will receive a handbook that explains the requirements of each phase. AA meetings and moral understanding classes are required. Urinalysis and court dates will have to be added to your schedule. There are rewards for following the program and there are consequences of jail and work crew for failure to do the requirements. It is your life that can be freed from addiction and criminal charges!
Program Description
The Yakima County Drug Court Program is a voluntary program that includes regular court appearances before a designated Drug Court Judge. The Drug Court Program is based upon the understanding that addiction is a chronic, progressive, relapsing disease that can be successfully treated. The post-arrest period is an excellent opportunity for treatment commitment, which will break the drug-crime cycle.
The Drug Court Program will support you to achieve total abstinence from drug and alcohol dependency. The program will direct you toward becoming a productive and responsible member of the community.
Treatment
- Treatment components may include:
- Detoxification and Stabilization
- Intensive Counseling
- Referral and Monitoring
- Urinalysis Testing and Breathalyzers
- Individual and Group Counseling
- Chemical Dependency Treatment
- Moral Reconation Therapy
- Family Program
- Relapse Prevention
- Specialized Treatment Tracks
- Regular attendance at Alcoholic Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous 12-Step Meetings
It takes hard work and motivation to achieve a drug-free life!
The Yakima County Mental Health Court is a collaborative, problem-solving court that strives to promote stability, sobriety and safety for criminal justice involved individuals with mental illness through an intensive program of evaluation, treatment, and frequent monitoring of compliance, while ensuring the security and well-being of the community.
Mental health court is a specialized court docket for certain defendants with mental illness that substitutes a problem-solving model for traditional criminal court processing. Participants are identified through mental health screening and assessments and voluntarily participate in a judicially supervised treatment plan developed jointly by a team of court staff and mental health professionals. Incentives reward adherence to the treatment plan and other court conditions, non-adherence may be sanctioned, and success or graduation is defined according to pre-determined criteria.
Yakima County Mental Health Court is a four (4) phase program of intensive judicial supervision and includes frequent appearances before the Mental Health Court judge, mandatory mental health treatment, and substance abuse treatment if indicated.
Phases are designed to build on the skills learned in the previous phase, allowing the participants to learn to effectively manage their mental illness (and substance abuse, where applicable). As they move through the phases of the program, they will be evaluated and promoted based on successful completion of each phase. A detailed description of each phase is included in the Handbook. Please note, however, that because all treatment plans are individualized, the requirements in each Phase may vary for each participant and may be modified by the MHC Treatment Team and MHC Judge to better fit your needs.