(1) Each county may fund a treatment-based drug court program under which persons in the justice system assessed with a substance abuse problem will be processed in such a manner as to appropriately address the severity of the identified substance abuse problem through treatment services tailored to the individual needs of the participant. It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the Department of Corrections, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Health, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Education, and such agencies, local governments, law enforcement agencies, other interested public or private sources, and individuals to support the creation and establishment of these problem-solving court programs. Participation in the treatment-based drug court programs does not divest any public or private agency of its responsibility for a child or adult, but enables these agencies to better meet their needs through shared responsibility and resources.
(2) Entry into any pretrial treatment-based drug court program shall be voluntary. When s. 948.08(6)(c)1. does not apply, the court may order an eligible individual to enter into a pretrial treatment-based drug court program only upon written agreement by the individual, which shall include a statement that the individual understands the requirements of the program and the potential sanctions for noncompliance.
(3)(a) Entry into any postadjudicatory treatment-based drug court program as a condition of probation or community control pursuant to s. 948.01, s. 948.06, or s. 948.20 must be based upon the sentencing court’s assessment of the defendant’s criminal history, substance abuse screening outcome, amenability to the services of the program, total sentence points, the recommendation of the state attorney and the victim, if any, and the defendant’s agreement to enter the program.
(b) An offender who is sentenced to a postadjudicatory drug court program and who, while a drug court participant, is the subject of a violation of probation or community control under s. 948.06 shall have the violation of probation or community control heard by the judge presiding over the postadjudicatory drug court program. The judge shall dispose of any such violation, after a hearing on or admission of the violation, as he or she deems appropriate if the resulting sentence or conditions are lawful.
(4) The treatment-based drug court programs shall include therapeutic jurisprudence principles and adhere to the following 10 key components, recognized by the Drug Courts Program Office of the Office of Justice Programs of the United States Department of Justice and adopted by the Florida Supreme Court Treatment-Based Drug Court Steering Committee:
(a) Drug court programs integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing.
(b) Using a nonadversarial approach, prosecution and defense counsel promote public safety while protecting participants’ due process rights.
(c) Eligible participants are identified early and promptly placed in the drug court program.
(d) Drug court programs provide access to a continuum of alcohol, drug, and other related treatment and rehabilitation services.
(e) Abstinence is monitored by frequent testing for alcohol and other drugs.
(f) A coordinated strategy governs drug court program responses to participants’ compliance.
(g) Ongoing judicial interaction with each drug court program participant is essential.
(h) Monitoring and evaluation measure the achievement of program goals and gauge program effectiveness.
(i) Continuing interdisciplinary education promotes effective drug court program planning, implementation, and operations.
(j) Forging partnerships among drug court programs, public agencies, and community-based organizations generates local support and enhances drug court program effectiveness.
(5) Treatment-based drug court programs may include pretrial intervention programs as provided in ss. 948.08, 948.16, and 985.345, treatment-based drug court programs authorized in chapter 39, postadjudicatory programs as provided in ss. 948.01, 948.06, and 948.20, and review of the status of compliance or noncompliance of sentenced offenders through a treatment-based drug court program. While enrolled in a treatment-based drug court program, the participant is subject to a coordinated strategy developed by a drug court team under subsection (4). The coordinated strategy may include a protocol of sanctions that may be imposed upon the participant for noncompliance with program rules. The protocol of sanctions may include, but is not limited to, placement in a substance abuse treatment program offered by a licensed service provider as defined in s. 397.311 or in a jail-based treatment program or serving a period of secure detention under chapter 985 if a child or a period of incarceration within the time limits established for contempt of court if an adult. The coordinated strategy must be provided in writing to the participant before the participant agrees to enter into a treatment-based drug court program.
(6)(a) Contingent upon an annual appropriation by the Legislature, each judicial circuit shall establish, at a minimum, one coordinator position for the treatment-based drug court program within the state courts system to coordinate the responsibilities of the participating agencies and service providers. Each coordinator shall provide direct support to the treatment-based drug court program by providing coordination between the multidisciplinary team and the judiciary, providing case management, monitoring compliance of the participants in the treatment-based drug court program with court requirements, and managing the collection of data for program evaluation and accountability.
(b) Each treatment-based drug court program shall collect sufficient client-level data and programmatic information for purposes of program evaluation. Client-level data includes primary offenses that resulted in the treatment-based drug court program referral or sentence, treatment compliance, completion status and reasons for failure to complete, offenses committed during treatment and the sanctions imposed, frequency of court appearances, and units of service. Programmatic information includes referral and screening procedures, eligibility criteria, type and duration of treatment offered, and residential treatment resources. Each treatment-based drug court program must annually report the programmatic information and aggregate data on the number of treatment-based drug court program admissions and terminations by type of termination to the Office of the State Courts Administrator.
(7)(a) The Florida Association of Drug Court Professionals is created. The membership of the association may consist of treatment-based drug court program practitioners who comprise the multidisciplinary treatment-based drug court program team, including, but not limited to, judges, state attorneys, defense counsel, treatment-based drug court program coordinators, probation officers, law enforcement officers, community representatives, members of the academic community, and treatment professionals. Membership in the association shall be voluntary.
(b) The association shall annually elect a chair whose duty is to solicit recommendations from members on issues relating to the expansion, operation, and institutionalization of treatment-based drug court programs. The chair is responsible for providing on or before October 1 of each year the association’s recommendations and an annual report to the appropriate Supreme Court committee or to the appropriate personnel of the Office of the State Courts Administrator.
(8) If a county chooses to fund a treatment-based drug court program, the county must secure funding from sources other than the state for those costs not otherwise assumed by the state pursuant to s. 29.004. However, this does not preclude counties from using treatment and other service dollars provided through state executive branch agencies. Counties may provide, by interlocal agreement, for the collective funding of these programs.
(9) The chief judge of each judicial circuit may appoint an advisory committee for the treatment-based drug court program. The committee shall be composed of the chief judge, or his or her designee, who shall serve as chair; the judge of the treatment-based drug court program, if not otherwise designated by the chief judge as his or her designee; the state attorney, or his or her designee; the public defender, or his or her designee; the treatment-based drug court program coordinators; community representatives; treatment representatives; and any other persons the chair finds are appropriate.
(10)(a) Information relating to a participant or a person considered for participation in a treatment-based drug court program which is contained in the following records is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution:
1. Records created or compiled during screenings for participation in the program.
2. Records created or compiled during substance abuse screenings.
3. Behavioral health evaluations.
4. Subsequent treatment status reports.
(b) Such confidential and exempt information may be disclosed:
1. Pursuant to a written request of the participant or person considered for participation, or his or her legal representative.
2. To another governmental entity in the furtherance of its responsibilities associated with the screening of a person considered for participation in or the provision of treatment to a person in a treatment-based drug court program.
(c) Records of a service provider which pertain to the identity, diagnosis, and prognosis of or provision of service to any person shall be disclosed pursuant to s. 397.501(7).
(d) This exemption applies to such information described in paragraph (a) relating to a participant or a person considered for participation in a treatment-based drug court program before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption.
Cited 73 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2007 WL 3101817
...ioner to complete a drug treatment program: (1) as a special condition of ordinary probation; (2) as a condition of drug offender probation under section 948.20, Florida Statutes (2005); or (3) as part of a "treatment based drug court program" under section 397.334, Florida Statutes (2005)....
...t that specific treatment conditions and other treatment approaches necessary to monitor this population may be ordered. § 948.20(1), Fla. Stat. (2005). Additionally, the Legislature authorized the creation of "treatment-based drug court programs." § 397.334, Fla. Stat. (2005). As with drug offender probation, the focus of the drug court program is to "appropriately address the severity of the identified substance abuse problem through treatment plans tailored to the individual needs of the participant." § 397.334(1), Fla. Stat. (2005). Furthermore, the Legislature mandated that the drug court programs comport with "therapeutic jurisprudence principles," § 397.334(2), Fla. Stat. (2005), adhering to ten key components, including the importance of "[o]ngoing judicial interaction with each drug court program participant." § 397.334(2)(g), Fla....
Cited 7 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2003 WL 1239427
...oblem through treatment plans tailored to the individual needs of the participant. These treatment-based drug court program models may be established in the misdemeanor, felony, family, delinquency, and dependency divisions of the judicial circuits. § 397.334, Fla....
Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2005 WL 53265
...iod of not less than 1 year in duration...." Id. This statute encouraged drug offenders to attend and complete treatment while being intensively monitored by the court in exchange for dismissal of their drug charges. In 2001, the legislature enacted section 397.334, Florida Statutes, which adopted the Ten Key Components of Drug Court, recognized by the U.S....
Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2008 WL 536645
...dmitted to a felony pretrial program referred to in this section is eligible for voluntary admission into a pretrial substance abuse education and treatment intervention program, including a treatment-based drug court program established pursuant to s. 397.334, approved by the chief judge of the circuit, for a period of not less than 1 year in duration, upon motion of either party or the court's own motion, except: 1....
...See § 948.08(6)(c). Although Leukel was not charged with committing one of the crimes enumerated in section 948.08(6)(a), the trial court nevertheless admitted him to the drug court program finding that section 948.08(6)(a) must be read in harmony with section *295 397.334(2), Florida Statutes (2007). The court stated that section 397.334(2) would allow any person who has a substance abuse problem to enter the pretrial drug court program, as long as he or she is not involved with drug dealing and had not previously rejected a pretrial substance abuse program. Unlike section 948.08(6), section 397.334 does not provide for the dismissal of criminal charges upon successful completion of a treatment-based drug court program. Section 397.334 authorizes counties to fund treatment-based drug court programs and emphasizes that participation in such programs shall be voluntary....
...Section 948.08(6)(a), on the other hand, sets forth the eligibility requirements for admission into a drug court program upon the motion of either party or the court's own motion. It includes by direct reference treatment-based drug court programs established pursuant to section 397.334....
...gible offenses. An administrative order cannot amend a statute by adding terms and conditions that were not part of the original legislation. See Hewlett v. State, 661 So.2d 112 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). Under the trial court's interpretation of sections 397.334 and 948.08(6)(a), the trial court would have sole discretion in every case to determine whether a defendant should be admitted to a drug court program, as long as he or she did not previously reject an offer for substance abuse treatment and is not a drug dealer....
...iven its plain and obvious meaning. See Holly v. Auld, 450 So.2d 217, 219 (Fla. 1984), cited in State v. VanBebber, 848 So.2d 1046 (Fla.2003). Section 948.08(6)(a) is clear and definite in its meaning. If section 948.08(6)(a) must be harmonized with section 397.334, section 397.334 is the general statute concerning implementation of drug court programs, while section 948.08(6)(a) is the specific statute concerning the eligibility requirements for entry into drug court programs....
...ioner to complete a drug treatment program: (1) as a special condition of ordinary probation; (2) as a condition of drug offender probation under section 948.20, Florida Statutes (2005); or (3) as part of a `treatment based drug court program' under section 397.334, Florida Statutes (2005)." Lawson v....
...on in a treatment program could be imposed if he violated the terms of the program. In July 2009, Walker was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine. He entered into a DPA and the PTI program. See § 948.08(6)(a), Fla. Stat. (2009); see also § 397.334, Fla....
...In footnote 3 of Mullin, we noted: "Had the administrative order indicated only `entry' into the program was `voluntary,' a different result may have occurred." Id. at 546 n. 3. Subsequent to our decision, the administrative order was amended. The current order tracks the language of section 397.334(3)(a) and now provides: "Entry into the felony drug court is voluntary....
...2006-97, § 8, Laws of Fla.; § 948.08(6)(b), Fla. Stat. (2006). The amended statute provides: While enrolled in a pretrial intervention program authorized by this subsection, the participant is subject to a coordinated strategy developed by a drug court team under s. 397.334(4)....
...The coordinated strategy must be provided in writing to the participant before the participant agrees to enter into a pretrial treatment-based drug court program or other pretrial intervention program. § 948.08(6)(b), Fla. Stat. (2009) (emphasis added) [2] ; see also § 397.334(5), Fla....
...3d DCA 1989) ("Administrative agencies
entrusted with authority to carry out statutory provisions are . . . prohibited from giving
the statute an amendatory construction.").
5Although not addressed by the parties and not dispositive of this case, we
note that section 397.334(2), Florida Statutes (2014), provides in relevant part that
"[e]ntry into any pretrial treatment-based drug court program shall be voluntary." And
the website for the Drug Pretrial Intervention Program for the Thirteenth Judicial Circ...
...A trial court may order a probationer to complete a drug treatment program as a special condition of ordinary probation, as a condition of drug offender probation pursuant to sections 948.034 and 948.20, Florida Statutes, or as part of a treatment based drug court program pursuant to section 397.334, Florida Statutes....
...The person receiving the information can only disclose or use the information to carry out duties relating to the patient’s conditional release. As noted by the trial court, this latter provision fits with the Florida Legislature’s concept of how to deal with substance abusers, as embodied in section 397.334, Florida Statutes (2002)....
PER CURIAM. J.W., the father of a dependent child, appeals from an order requiring him to participate in a drug court program as a case plan requirement. Appellant highlights that section 397.334, Florida Statutes, which authorizes counties to fund drug court programs for criminal defendants provides that “[e]ntry into ... [the] program shall be voluntary.” § 397.334(2), Fla....
...arent ... [of a dependent child] to participate in and comply with treatment and services identified as necessary, including, when appropriate and available, participation in and compliance with a treatment-based drug court program established under s. 397.334....
...controlled substance; and possession of paraphernalia. He moved
to transfer his case to a pre-trial treatment-based program, but the
trial judge denied relief. A trial court’s decision to grant entry into
a pretrial treatment-based program is discretionary. See §
397.334(2), Fla....
...importance and effectiveness of drug courts by adopting the recommendations made by the Task Force in its 2004 Report on Florida’s Drug Courts and formally recognizing the Ten Key Components of drug courts recently codified by the Legislature, see § 397.334(2)(a)-(j), Fla....
...screening, substance abuse screening, behavioral health evaluations, and treatment
status reports for defendants referred to or considered for referral to a drug court
program” to the list of automatically confidential information. See ch. 2014-174,
§1, Laws of Fla. (creating § 397.334(10)(a), Fla....
...§ 916.1065, Fla. Stat.
(xxii) Eligibility screening, substance abuse screening,
behavioral health evaluations, and treatment status reports for defendants referred
to or considered for referral to a drug court program. § 397.334(10)(a), Fla....
...a probationer to complete a drug treatment program: (1) as a special condition of
ordinary probation; (2) as a condition of drug offender probation under section 948.20,
Florida Statutes (2005); or (3) as part of a 'treatment based drug court program' under
section 397.334, Florida Statutes (2005).").
Accordingly, we reverse the portion of Orr's sentence imposing drug
offender probation for the offense of resisting an officer with violence....
...Petitioner acknowledges that the court had discretion in deciding whether to permit him to enter into the drug court program. The statute provides that a court “may order an individual to enter into a pretrial treatment-based drug court program.” § 397.334(2), Fla....
