A Meta-analysis of Missouri Drug Court Performance Measures

Abstract

The first Missouri drug court was established in the early 1990s to focus the state's effort towards treatment and other alternatives to incarceration and probation. Drug courts are popular and the number of such courts, now nearly 100, continues to expand. This report is part of an effort to assess how Missouri's drug courts are faring in comparison to those of other states. This analysis uses published reports and studies on the performance and cost of drug courts in Missouri and elsewhere to assess how Missouri's success compares to the experiences of other states. This report is based upon a larger assessment of Missouri drug courts conducted in 2005 for the Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator (Richardson et al., 2005). The data used in the analysis are from a 2001 study by the University of Missouri School of Social Work (UMSSW) that evaluated outcomes of Missouri drug courts (Sundet, Dannerbeck, & Lloyd, 2001). Data were collected on 14 courts around Missouri (10 adult courts, 3 juvenile courts and 1 family court) and measured graduate recidivism, participant retention, cost/benefit of participation, as well as various participant demographics. The studies of drug courts in other states, reviewed for comparison, were published between 1998 and 2005.