Macomb County Felony Drug Court

The Adult Felony Drug Court is now in its third year of operation.  After the one year pilot program in 2003, a grant was received from the Office of Drug Control Policy and the State Court Administrative Office to fund the program.  Since March 2004, this program has been court-wide.  The goal of the program is to provide a continuum of alcohol and drug treatment with judicial monitoring to those individuals who are non-violent offenders and ready to make lifestyle changes.  The program lasts for a minimum of twenty one months and consists of regular judicial reviews from probation agents and the two Drug Court Judges Deborah A. Servitto and James M. Biernat, Sr. 

Two drug free babies have been born to spouses of participants. Numerous individuals are reporting the longest periods of abstention since they began using alcohol and drugs. Consistently over 75% of the participants are employed.  The individuals in the first three phases of the program are drug tested three times per week.  In the month of July 2005, 509 tests were administered to participants at the probation department and six were positive.  In comparison to this .002 %  positives for Drug Court participants, regular probationers under far less scrutiny test positive at a rate of 15%.  Not only is this program saving jail and prison space for violent offenders but it is a significant impact on bringing about safe communities.