Drug Court

The Madison County Superior Court for Drug Treatment is an Alternative to Incarceration utilized for those offenders who have been charged with a substance-related offense. This program provides the Court with a sentencing option for those offenders who are willing to engage in intensive substance abuse treatment, coupled with Interim Probation supervision.

The Madison County Superior Court for Drug Treatment is relatively new in Madison County, having its first participants in 2009. This Court was developed as a result of the Rockefeller Reform Drug Laws in 2008. What makes this program unique is its collaboration between many departments, which results in a “team” approach to working with offenders. In Madison County, the following departments are members of the team and a representative from each department attends regular team meetings:

• Madison County Probation Department
• Madison County Court
• Madison County District Attorney’s Office
• Madison Public Defender’s Office
• Madison County Mental Health
• Stop DWI Program
• Madison-Oneida BOCES

Through the use of a team-centered approach, a collaborative effort between the various participating programs is utilized, resulting in alternative methods to offer encouragement, as well as impose sanctions, to offenders. Offenders who participate in this program appear in Court on a twice-monthly basis, report to a probation officer and meet with the Drug Treatment Court coordinator on a regular basis, in addition to participating in substance abuse treatment and other programs.