Roles of Drug Court Staff in Providing Trauma-Informed Care

There are multiple roles drug court staff have that contribute to the overall therapeutic engagement for participants. Each role serves a purpose as the sum is greater than that of each individual person supporting the mission of treatment courts. Reviewing the importance of each role and how all put together with a trauma-informed lens, they contribute to cost savings for the community. The working alliance established with the specialty court staff is an innovation that has transpired after the initial approach of incarcerating those with drug offenses. Incarceration did not prove any significant shifts other than perpetuating the revolving door of those involved in the criminal justice system returning all too frequently back into the justice system. Since the initial specialty court established in 1989, these courts have exponentially grown across the United States. Innovation bred action and a new set of players to help combat a system that was perpetuating the revolving door. Many specialty court programs are voluntary, with the main incentive being the possibility of participants having a reduction in their remaining supervised probation. Adding into the innovation of trauma-informed care within a court setting, participants will thus have a very different experience of the criminal justice system and how it can be modified to demonstrate the principles of trauma-informed care.