Enrolled SCR 9: Establishing the Task Force on Therapeutic Courts.
00Enrolled SCR 9 01 Establishing the Task Force on Therapeutic Courts. 02 _______________ 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS, according to a 2000 report by the Alaska Criminal Justice Assessment 05 Commission, alcohol was a primary or contributing factor in 80 to 95 percent of all criminal 06 offenses in the state; and 07 WHEREAS, according to a 2004 report by the Alaska Judicial Council, almost 70 08 percent of convicted offenders in the state who had been charged with a felony offense had an 09 alcohol abuse disorder; and 10 WHEREAS therapeutic courts are highly effective in treating offenders with 11 substance abuse or mental health disorders through a combination of substance abuse and 12 mental health treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy, peer support, recovery meetings, 13 employment and finance workshops, case management, community supervision, drug testing, 14 and judicial supervision; and 15 WHEREAS studies show that the use of therapeutic courts reduces recidivism, 16 reduces costs to the criminal justice and public health systems, and improves community 17 restoration; and
01 WHEREAS the therapeutic court model has been successful in some communities in 02 the state and may be replicable in additional communities in the state, and the criminal justice 03 system in the state could benefit from following therapeutic court principles and practices; 04 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Task Force on 05 Therapeutic Courts is created in the legislative branch and shall consist of 10 members as 06 follows: 07 (1) one senator appointed by the President of the Senate; 08 (2) one representative appointed by the Speaker of the House of 09 Representatives; 10 (3) one current or retired judge selected by the chief justice of the Alaska 11 Supreme Court; 12 (4) one member of the administrative staff of the Alaska Court System 13 selected by the administrative director of the Alaska Court System; 14 (5) one prosecutor from the Department of Law selected by the attorney 15 general; 16 (6) one defense attorney from the Public Defender Agency selected by the 17 head of the Public Defender Agency; 18 (7) one member from the Department of Health and Social Services selected 19 by the commissioner of health and social services; 20 (8) one member from the Department of Corrections selected by the 21 commissioner of corrections; 22 (9) one member from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority; and 23 (10) one member who has completed a therapeutic court program in the state; 24 and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that a vacancy on the task force shall be filled in the 26 manner of the original appointment; and be it 27 FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislators on the task force shall select a chair 28 from among themselves, and the chair may assign legislative staff to provide support to the 29 task force; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall 31 (1) examine matters relating to
01 (A) the therapeutic court model, including current rates of substance 02 abuse related to criminal offenses in the state; 03 (B) the ways in which substance abuse-related criminal offenses and 04 recidivism affect and cost the criminal justice system in the state; 05 (C) the effectiveness of prior criminal justice policies regarding the 06 costs to the criminal justice system and recidivism; 07 (D) the effects of implementing therapeutic courts in this and other 08 states; and 09 (E) challenges that therapeutic courts in the state currently face; 10 (2) evaluate and make recommendations for 11 (A) enhancing the effectiveness and scope of current therapeutic courts 12 in the state, including recommendations relating to providing attorneys in the state 13 with information about therapeutic court principles and practices; 14 (B) employing full-time therapeutic court attorneys; 15 (C) providing culturally appropriate treatment resources, including 16 certified or licensed Alaska Native treatment providers; 17 (D) establishing standardized screening and referral criteria; 18 (E) establishing and formalizing links between local treatment 19 providers and state and local alcohol and drug agencies; 20 (F) expanding the capacity of current therapeutic court programs; 21 (G) making policy or statutory changes; 22 (H) implementing data collection procedures for therapeutic courts in 23 the state, including for 24 (i) data regarding the number of individuals to whom a 25 program is offered in the state and the number of individuals who opt in to a 26 program; 27 (ii) program completion rates; 28 (iii) criminal charges of the individuals to whom a program is 29 offered; 30 (iv) program attendance rates; 31 (v) post-program recidivism rates;
01 (vi) noncompletion rates and reasons for noncompletion; 02 (vii) costs to the criminal justice system; and 03 (viii) costs to emergency rooms; and 04 (I) expanding therapeutic courts to rural communities in the state; and 05 be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall begin meeting in July 2020 and 07 meet as necessary, including during the interim, to produce the required recommendations; 08 and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is terminated on January 18, 2021; and 10 be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall submit a final report summarizing 12 the task force's findings and recommendations to the legislature.