Court Supervised Treatment (CST) Program

Court Supervised Treatment Program (CST Program or Drug Court) assists participants in breaking the cycle of substance abuse and the crimes committed as a result thereof. CST programs provide sentencing alternatives for the judicial system in cases stemming from substance abuse. Participants are normally non-violent adult or juvenile offenders. Participants must be admitted to the program and must either enter an admission, or a guilty or nolo contendere plea or a guilty plea pursuant to W.S. §7-13-301; sign a consent decree under Title 14 of the Wyoming statutes; be on parole under the provisions of W.S. §7-13-401 et seq. 

• CST Programs focus on treating the addictive behavior rather than incarceration the individual because of an addiction.
• District, juvenile, circuit, municipal or tribal court judges or magistrates may refer substance offenders to the program and an individual’s participation in the program is voluntary.
• CST Programs offer wrap around services which allow the judiciary, prosecution, defense, probation, law enforcement, treatment, mental health, social services, and child protection services to intervene and break the cycle of substance abuse, addiction, and crime.
• Coordinated efforts of CST Program personnel and volunteers help effectuate changes not only with the individuals, but the community as a whole.
• CST Programs provide supervision and treatment programs for drug-using offenders. The programs include frequent drug testing, judicial and probation supervision, individual, group and family counseling, drug abuse treatment, educational opportunities, employment requirements, and the use of sanctions and incentives. The judge has more involvement in supervising CST Program offenders than just placing an individual in a probationary or diversionary program for drug treatment.
• The philosophy of the CST Program is that by using appropriate adaptive mechanisms, building coalitions around the resources of family, friends, community and treatment, and structuring a suitable recovery environment, most people will be capable of living free from abuse of or dependency on alcohol or other drugs. Utilization of group, individual and family therapy, drug testing, court appearances and case management in a structured and disciplined environment are all strategies of the program.

The core mission of the Court Supervised Treatment Programs (CST Programs) is to reduce recidivism, strive for program retention and graduation, strive for sobriety of participants, and monitor services (treatment, ancillary, supervision, and drug testing) provided to participants.

Who are the key players in a Court Supervised Treatment Program? 

A CST Program is unique in bringing the facilitating agencies to the same table for the benefit of the offender. The CST Program judge, coordinator, prosecutor, public defender, treatment providers, law enforcement, and other agencies work together in collaboration to encourage the offender’s success. This collaborative effort also extends outside of the courtroom to other agencies helping the offender such as social services staff, health providers, job training representatives and others. The strength and effectiveness of a drug court lies in the communication between involved players.

The CST Program model incorporates the following components: 1) rapid intervention; 2) quick case processing; 3) regularized judicial interaction with offenders; 4) team decision-making approach; 5) immediate access to treatment; 6) supervision; and 7) therapeutic jurisprudence.

The goals of the programs funded under the CST Program Act are as follows: 

• Reduce recidivism by participants both in-program and post-program
• Strive for program retention and graduation of participants
• Strive for sobriety of participants by ensuring all graduates have a minimum of 120 consecutive sobriety days prior to graduation
• Monitor the services provided to participants: treatment, ancillary, supervision, and drug testing

 

CST Programs were created to address:

• an increase in drug offenses and criminal case filings
• overwhelming caseloads for courts, prosecution and defense
• ineffective resolution as a result of plea bargaining
• revolving-door justice
• over-crowded prisons
• an increase in spending on prison costs
• the cycle of addiction
• future felony activity by creating an intervention at the misdemeanor level
• Having a CST Program in place will allow corrective actions to be taken when a drug or alcohol offender is identified through the judicial system
• A CST Program will interrupt the repetitive cycle of an offender by using rehabilitative measures
• Rehabilitating an individual will save taxpayer dollars in several different ways:
  • • Treatment costs are less than jail costs
    • Less crime will be committed to support substance abuse habits
    • Less insurance costs
    • Offenders become working citizens who pay taxes instead of using tax dollars