How Does the Maine Treatment Court Work?

Maine Treatment Courts are court programs focused on providing intensive, community-based, court-supervised treatment, and strict accountability for qualified persons with severe substance use or mental health disorders involved with the child protection or criminal justice system. The treatment courts include the Adult Drug Treatment Court, Family Recovery Court, Co-Occurring Disorders Court, and the Veterans Treatment Court. The aims of the treatment courts are to:

• Use limited judicial system resources effectively and efficiently;
• Foster and strengthen healthy and safe parent-child relationships;
• Increase participants’ personal, family, and community accountability;
• Educate those involved in the child protection and criminal justice system, and the public about mental health issues and substance abuse;
• Address the fundamental causes of criminal behavior by persons with severe substance use disorders or mental health disorders; and
• Help make communities safer by reducing recidivism and criminal behavior.

Maine Treatment Courts have some uniform requirements for participants. These include:

• Weekly meeting with the court team and other participants in the program to discuss progress;
• Weekly meeting with case managers for check-ins;
• Providing urine samples for random and observed alcohol and drug testing at least twice a week;
• Attending treatment as instructed by the treatment provider;
• Taking all medications as prescribed;
• Abstaining entirely from alcohol and drugs, except where the drug is prescribed;
• Attending community recovery support groups as recommended by the treatment provider;
• Complying with nightly curfews;
• Changing the things, places, and people that contribute to relapse;
• Avoiding places where drugs are being used, or cannabis or alcohol is served;
• Working, attending an official educational program, or performing community service; and
• Making payments on any previous or current restitution, fines, child support, or treatment co-payments.

The Treatment Courts also utilize specific strategies to ensure that program goals are met. Such strategies include;

• Intensive oversight and regular status hearings before the presiding judge;
• Community supervision;
• Specialized multi-disciplinary treatment team that includes the presiding judge, prosecutor, defense lawyer, probation officer, case manager, treatment provider, law enforcement officer, and coordinator;
• Individualized and thorough treatment plans, including Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) where appropriate;
• Random, frequent, and observed drug testing;
• Case management to help participants with scheduling, housing, and employment;
• Strict accountability and penalties for noncompliance; and
• Incentives for compliance with program guidelines and an opportunity to progress completion

Adult Drug Treatment Court

The Adult Drug Treatment Court (ADTC) is a specialty docket for qualified individuals whose involvement with the criminal justice system has been driven by severe abuse of substances such as drugs or alcohol. Admission into the ADTC program is voluntary and based on an individual entering into a plea agreement and accepting responsibility for their conduct. Other eligibility criteria to enter the ADTC program include:

• Serious criminal charge(s) or probation violation(s);
• Severe substance use disorder involving alcohol or drug;
• A major risk of future criminal conduct without intervention;
• Poor prognosis for successful treatment of the substance use disorder without supervised intervention; and
• Eighteen years of age or older.

A defendant or probationer may apply by submitting a completed Treatment Court Referral Form (CR–234) at any stage of a criminal case. This may include the arraignment, bail hearing, or dispositional conference stage. A referral will not be considered after a trial and a finding of guilty. However, a defendant may ask that ADTC be included in the sentence if the entry criteria are met. Before admission, the defense counsel reviews the preliminary treatment plan and program expectations with the applicant. If interest is confirmed in the proceeding, the applicant will be required to appear before the ADTC judge for an admission hearing. Typically, participants are expected to live in the county of the ADTC to which application was made. Otherwise, such participants will be responsible for a reliable means of transportation to meet the program’s travel demands.

Upon admission, the participant must sign all program documents, including the plea agreement, the bail contract, and an Authorization to Release Information Within the Maine Treatment Court Teams (CR–236) form. This form authorizes the ADTC team members to share information throughout the defendant’s participation in the program.

Not all eligible applicants are admitted into the ADTC program. Due to the program’s intensive nature, the ADTC can serve only a limited number of participants per time. The ADTC team provides a letter of explanation for persons excluded from the court’s program. Denial of applications may be on related to:

• Determining that an applicant presents a substantial danger to the victim or the community;
• Determining that an applicant presents a substantial risk to the integrity of the judicial process; or
• Where there is a lack of services to address the applicant’s needs

ADTC takes a minimum of 13 months to complete but may take longer, depending on the participant’s progress. The locations and case manager contacts for Maine ADTC are listed below:

Androscoggin County
Androscoggin County Superior Court—Auburn
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 699–7073

Cumberland County
Cumberland County Superior Court—Portland
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 351–0074

Hancock County
Hancock County Superior Court—Ellsworth
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 615–7337

Penobscot County
Penobscot County Superior Court Judicial Center—Bangor
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 991–1250

Washington County
Machias & Calais District Courts
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 214–8525

York County
York County Superior Court—Alfred
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 214–6111

Family Recovery Court

The Family Recovery Courts (FRC) are specialty civil dockets that work with families whose children are at risk of abuse or neglect due to parental substance use disorders or co-occurring disorders. No criminal charges are required to participate in the FRC. Participation in the program is voluntary, and a parent involved in a child protection case may be referred to the FRC. FRC relies on access to comprehensive treatment services and accountability to the court to help achieve its goals. FRC goals are to improve children’s safety and welfare and support the recovery of their parents from substance use disorder or the management of co-occurring disorders.

A referral to the FRC is made as soon as a case is opened. Eligibility criteria for participation mandates that participants:

• Are 18 years of age or older;
• Have a severe substance use disorder or co-occurring disorder; and
• Are a child or children with an open child protection case with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

An FRC program takes an average of eight to twelve months to complete, but it may be longer depending on the participant’s progress. To participate in an FRC program, parents are required to knowingly and voluntarily consent to waive all rights to confidentiality established by federal and state laws associated with a substance use diagnosis and treatment, and mental health diagnosis and treatment. The locations and case management contact for Maine FRC are listed below:

Augusta District Court
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 623–9677

Bangor District Court
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 945–4807

Lewiston District Court
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 615–5226

Co-Occurring Disorders Court

Co-Occurring Disorder Court (CODC) is a specialty docket for eligible persons whose involvement with the criminal justice system has been driven by severe use disorder of drugs or alcohol and co-occurring mental health disorders. Although participation is voluntary, individuals are admitted to the CODC after entering into a plea agreement and accepting responsibility for their conduct. A defendant or probation may apply at any criminal case stage, including arraignment, bail hearing, or dispositional conference. Referrals are not considered after trial and a finding of guilty.

The CODC considers several factors in granting an application. The court determines if an applicant has poor prospects for successful treatment of substance abuse/co-occurring disorder with other interventions and requires that the applicant be:

• 18 years of age or older;
• Have serious criminal charges or probation violations;
• Diagnosed with severe substance abuse disorder and co-occurring mental disorder; and
• At the significant risk of future criminal conduct without intervention

Participants will be required to knowingly and voluntarily consent to waive all rights of confidentiality concerning mental health and substance abuse diagnosis and treatment. Participants are also expected to reside in Kennebec County. CODC takes a minimum of one year to complete, while the average participant completes the program in 18 to 23 months.

The Maine location and case manager contact for FRC is:

Capital Judicial Center in Augusta
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 399–628

Veteran Treatment Court

The Veteran Treatment Court (VTC) is a specialty docket for military veterans whose involvement with the criminal justice system has been driven by a severe use disorder of drugs or alcohol or mental health disorders. The VTC accepts veterans regardless of discharge status or era, even if deployed to combat theaters such as Iraq, Afghanistan, or Vietnam. Maine VTC collaborates with the U.S. Veterans Administration and Togus VA Medical Center, and other veteran affairs facilities in the state. Participants of the court are assigned a peer mentor and engage in group activities with other veterans to recognize the unique bonds shared. Treatment services in Maine VTC are accessed at the Togus Veteran’s Affair Medical Center or private providers.

Maine VTC considers several factors in granting an application. The court determines if an applicant has poor prospects for successful treatment of substance abuse disorder or diagnosed mental health disorder without supervised intervention and requires that the applicant be:

• A U.S. military veteran;
• 18 years of age or older;
• Have serious criminal charges or probation violations;
• Diagnosed with severe substance abuse disorder or a diagnosed mental health disorder; and
• At the major risk of future criminal conduct without intervention

Entry to VTC is voluntary, and participants are admitted after entering into a plea agreement and accepting responsibility for their conduct. A defendant or probationer may apply at any point in the criminal case process. This includes arraignment, bail hearing, or the dispositional conference stage. Referrals are not considered after a trial and a finding of guilty. Generally, participants are required to reside in Kennebec or Cumberland County. VTC takes a minimum of one year to complete, while the average participant completes the program in 14 to 16 months.

The locations and case manager contact for Maine VTCs are:

Cumberland County Superior Court
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 351–0074

Capital Judicial Center in Augusta
Maine Pretrial Services
Phone: (207) 399–628