The mission of Drug Courts is to stop the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and related criminal activity. Drug Courts are unique because they build a close collaborative relationship between criminal justice and drug treatment professionals.
While administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Drug Court legislation calls for all Drug Court substance abuse treatment funds to be allocated to the Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). A memorandum of agreement has been signed between the AOC and DMHAS in which DMHAS contracts with third parties to execute service contracts with DMHAS licensed treatment providers in New Jersey to provide the Drug Courts with the full continuum of care.
DMHAS has a pivotal role in the success of Drug Courts. DMHAS' primary duties include:
Develop, Support, and Monitor the Treatment Provider Network
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Identify service gaps in the available continuum of care; recruit new providers into the network; establish provider network membership criteria; review and approve or reject all applications for the providers network; monitor leves of service of network providers to track utilization; review program administration, staffing, and all other aspects of the treatment program's operation; approve extension requests and monitoring treatment provider adherence to contractual and licensure requirements
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Educate the provider network on the Drug Court program and requirements; educate the provider network regarding Best Practices for the treatment of substance abuse and criminal justice clients
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Assess need of and plan for Residential/Outpatient capacity expansion in response to changes in legislation and sentencing guidelines
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NIATx and other technical assistance will be offered to Drug Court Network treatment providers |
Fiscal and Data Management:
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Maintain a database of utilization by service, by county and by dollar amount to develop management reports
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Monitor Fee-For-Service (FFS) and Contracted capacity utilization to support data-driven management of funding resources
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Project spending and utilization based on available program data and share data with AOC
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Execute and maintain performance-based contracts, for both FFS and contracted treatment services
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Utilizing DMHAS staff or a contracted fiscal agent, process all payment vouchers
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Utilizing DMHAS staff or a contracted fiscal agent, DMHAS will receive, review all service billing to improve the accuracy and quality of the billing process thereby resulting in optimum resource utilization
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Review billing for adherence to clinical guidelines, including extension policy request |
Partner with AOC in the Management of Drug Court Treatment and Program Expansion:
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Work closely with AOC to ensure that the treatment needs of the Drug Courts are met, and plan for additional service needs as per Memoranda of Agreement with the AOC; plan and identify projected levels of service and additional treatment needs and develop Annex A's to support enhanced/additional clinical services for drug court providers
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Act as a bridge between the AOC and the treatment community
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Co-Facilitate trainings and conferences as per Memoranda of Agreement with the AOC
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Maintain a relationship with national organizations that support Drug Courts and remain current on the latest treatment and Drug Court Research in order to provide best practices and ideas to the treatment provider |
For more information about eligibility to become a Drug Court participant, visit the AOC website.
For more information about the fee-for-service aspect of Drug Court, visit the DMHAS FFS Network page.
