Ohio R. Superi. Ct. XX app I
Overview.
The following standards are established to guide courts of common pleas, municipal courts, and county courts and divisions of these courts in the planning and implementation of all specialized dockets. The standards set forth minimum requirements and recommendations for the certification and operation of all specialized dockets. The Specialized Dockets Section of the Supreme Court will provide written guidance for compliance with the specialized docket standards as they apply to all dockets generally and as they should be implemented by specific types of dockets. While the standards seek to create a minimum level of uniform practices for specialized dockets, they still allow local specialized dockets to innovate and tailor their specialized docket to respond to local needs and resources.
Standard 1. Planning Process.
A specialized docket shall utilize a comprehensive and collaborative planning process that includes all of the following:
(A) An advisory committee. All of the following apply to the advisory committee:
(1) The advisory committee shall be comprised of a multidisciplinary team of key officials, policymakers, and relevant parties needed to support the effective operations of the specialized docket. The relevant parties should represent criminal justice representatives; treatment representatives, including mental health, substance abuse, medical, and other treatment areas; and community stakeholders. The relevant parties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) The specialized docket judge;
(b) The court;
(c) The prosecutor;
(d) Defense counsel;
(e) Licensed treatment providers;
(f) Children services for family dependency treatment dockets;
(g) The probation department and the parole authority for criminal and juvenile dockets;
(h) Law enforcement agencies;
(i) The veterans administration for veterans dockets;
(j) Funding authorities;
(k) Community-based service providers.
(2) The advisory committee should provide oversight on policies and procedures, facilitate agreements with partner agencies, improve the quality and expand the quantity of available services, garner political and community support for the specialized docket, evaluate specialized docket effectiveness, and plan for the sustainability of the specialized docket;
(3) The advisory committee shall establish and monitor measureable goals and objectives for the specialized docket;
(4) Advisory committee meetings shall include the specialized docket judge, who shall attend and serve as the chair of the committee. In the event of a shared advisory committee, each specialized docket judge shall chair the portion of the agenda concerning that judge's docket.
(B) A local rule or an administrative order authorizing the operation of the specialized docket.
(C) A program description that contains written policies and procedures that demonstrate compliance with all specialized docket certification requirements. The judge of a court or division establishing a specialized docket should incorporate national best practices for the particular type of docket and participants to be served.
(D) A written participation agreement and participant handbook detailing the rights and responsibilities of participants in the specialized docket;
(E) A process that is non-adversarial, but recognizes the distinct role of a prosecutor in pursuing justice and protecting public safety and victim's rights and the distinct role of a defense counsel in preserving the constitutional rights of a specialized docket participant.
Standard 2. Legal and Clinical Eligibility.
A specialized docket shall identify its target population and establish written legal and clinical eligibility criteria that have been collaboratively developed, reviewed, and agreed upon by the advisory committee. Each of the following shall apply with regard to legal and clinical eligibility:
(A) Eligibility and exclusion criteria shall identify the individuals who can be treated safely and effectively within the type of specialized docket established;
(B) A specialized docket shall generally target individuals with a moderate to high risk for recidivism and a high need for treatment. If a specialized docket is unable to target only high-risk and high-need offenders, the docket may be required to use alternative tracks with services that are modified to meet the risk and need levels of its participants.
(C) A specialized docket shall ensure equal opportunity for everyone to participate and succeed, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. A specialized docket shall take affirmative steps to detect and correct disproportionate census, inequitable services, and disparate outcomes involving those who have historically faced discrimination. A specialized docket shall ensure that teams understand and are responsive to the cultural differences within their population.
Standard 3. Program Entry and Case Flow.
(A) Referral process
A specialized docket shall include a written referral process that addresses how candidates are identified, evaluated, and transferred into the docket. The referral process shall indicate at what stage or stages of the legal process referrals will be considered.
(B) Assessment
(1) Candidates shall be promptly evaluated for admission into a specialized docket using assessment tools and procedures based upon written legal and clinical eligibility criteria.
(2) A specialized docket should use risk scales specific to the type of legal case, participant, and desired outcome to increase predictive accuracy.
(3) All substance abuse, mental health, and other programming assessments shall include available collateral information to ensure the accuracy of the assessment;
(4) A participant or the participant's guardian shall complete a release of information form to provide for communication about confidential information, participation/progress in treatment, and compliance with the provisions of relevant law, including the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996," 42 U.S.C. 300g g-42, as amended; 42 CFR Part 2; and R.C. 2151.421 and 2152.99;
(5) All screenings and assessments for treatment determinations shall be provided by programs or persons who are appropriately licensed and trained to deliver such services according to the standards of the profession.
(C) Decision on admission
(1) A specialized docket judge shall have discretion to decide the admission into a specialized docket in accordance with the written criteria for the specialized docket.
(2) The written legal and clinical eligibility criteria do not create a right to participation in a specialized docket.
(D) Acceptance into docket
(1) Before entering a specialized docket, each participant shall receive and agree to the terms and conditions set forth in a detailed, written participation agreement and participant handbook outlining the requirements and process of the specialized docket.
(2) Each participant shall receive an explanation of responses to compliance and noncompliance, including criteria for successful, neutral, and unsuccessful specialized docket completion.
(3) In addition to any constitutional or legal right to counsel throughout the process, a participant shall have the right to request the attendance of defense counsel during the portion of a specialized docket treatment team meeting concerning the participant.
Standard 4. Treatment and Rehabilitation.
(A) Prompt access
A specialized docket shall provide prompt access to a continuum of approved treatment and other rehabilitation services.
(B) Placement in treatment services
Specialized docket participants shall be placed as soon as possible in appropriate treatment services and programs.
(C) Screenings and assessments
All screenings and assessments for treatment determinations shall be provided by programs or persons appropriately licensed and trained to deliver such services according to the standards of the profession.
(D) Licensing and training
All required treatment and programming shall be provided by programs or persons who are appropriately licensed and trained to deliver such services according to the standards of their profession.
(E) Treatment and services
(1) Coordinated treatment and other rehabilitative services shall meet the individualized needs of each specialized docket participant and incorporate evidence-based strategies for the participant population being served by the docket. Treatment and services shall be trauma informed, gender-responsive, and culturally appropriate and shall effectively address co-occurring disorders. Whenever possible, service providers should have separate tracks for specialized docket participants.
(2) Medication assisted treatment services shall be provided in a form and manner that adhere to "The Supreme Court of Ohio's Principles for the Use of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Drug Courts."
(3) Treatment and services should be comprehensive and family-centered, meeting the assessed needs of the participant in the context of family relationships.
(F) Ancillary services
A full continuum of complementary treatment and social services should be provided for conditions that are likely to interfere with a specialized docket participant's compliance with docket requirements, increase criminal recidivism, or diminish treatment gains and long term rehabilitation, including all of the following:
(1) Education;
(2) Vocational training;
(3) Employment;
(4) Transportation;
(5) Housing;
(6) Domestic violence programming;
(7) Physical, mental, and dental health;
(8) Parenting.
(9) Language Services pursuant to Sup. R. 89.
Standard 5. Incentives and Sanctions.
(A) General
Progression through a specialized docket is based upon the participant's performance in the treatment plan and compliance with requirements of the docket phases. A participant's progress through the docket phases shall not be based solely upon preset timelines.
(B) Structure
A specialized docket shall include a clearly defined structure for progression through the docket. The progression shall include all of the following:
(1) The minimum length of time, if any, that shall be spent achieving any particular phase;
(2) The nature and frequency of court appearances, supervision meetings, and other attendance requirements;
(3) Realistic and concrete behavioral based requirements for the court, case management, substance monitoring, and treatment objectives that shall be satisfied before advancing;
(4) The process for advancing to the next phase, including any applications, if any, that shall be completed.
(C) Sequence and timing
The sequence and timing of requirements and services provided by the specialized docket should take into account the relative priority of participant needs to be addressed.
(D) Productive activities
The structure of a specialized docket should include productive activities, such as employment, education, or attendance in peer support groups.
Standard 6. Treatment Team.
(A) Composition
A treatment team shall be comprised of a multidisciplinary group of professionals needed to implement the daily operations of the specialized docket. Treatment team members may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The specialized docket judge;
(2) Probation staff / community control staff;
(3) Parole officers;
(4) Licensed treatment providers;
(5) A prosecutor;
(6) Defense counsel;
(7) A specialized docket program coordinator;
(8) Case managers;
(9) Law enforcement personnel;
(10) Jail, prison, or juvenile detention personnel;
(11) Children services personnel;
(12) Veterans justice outreach coordinator;
(13) Representatives of other community-based stakeholders.
(C) Roles and responsibilities
The specific roles and responsibilities for each treatment team member shall be set forth in writing.
(D) Meetings
The treatment team shall hold regular meetings prior to the status review hearings to evaluate participant progress, develop plans to improve individual outcomes, and prepare for the status review hearings.
(E) Participation of specialized docket judge
The specialized docket judge shall attend and chair treatment team meetings.
(F) Communication
Ongoing communication shall take place among the treatment team members, including frequent exchanges of timely and accurate information about the participant's overall performance.
(G) Length of service
For consistency and stability in specialized docket operations, treatment team members should serve on the treatment team for a minimum of one year.
Standard 7. Participant Monitoring.
(A) General
(1) A specialized docket shall monitor each participant's performance and progress.
(2) Participants shall be placed under reporting supervision as soon as possible to monitor compliance with court requirements.
(3) A specialized docket shall maintain a current treatment plan and record of activities.
(B) Ongoing judicial interaction
(1) A specialized docket shall incorporate ongoing judicial interaction with each participant as an essential component of the docket.
(2) A specialized docket participant shall appear at least twice monthly before the specialized docket judge during the initial phase, no less than monthly after the initial phase, and no less than every six weeks during the final phase to review the participant's progress. Frequent status review hearings establish and reinforce the specialized docket's policies and ensure effective supervision of the participant.
(3) A specialized docket should have a significant number of specialized docket participants appear at a single court session in order to educate each participant as to the benefits of court compliance and consequences for noncompliance.
(4) Hearings shall, as much as practicable, be before the same specialized docket judge for the length of each participant's time in the specialized docket.
Standard 8. Incentives, Sanctions, and Therapeutic Adjustments.
(A) General
Specialized dockets shall establish written policies and procedures regarding responses to a participant's behavior that are predictable, fair, and consistent and that are administered in accordance with evidence-based principles of effective behavior modification.
(B) Incentives
(1) Immediate, graduated, and individualized incentives shall govern the responses of a specialized docket to a participant's compliance.
(2) Praise and positive incentives should be offered consistently to promote achieving productive behaviors.
(C) Sanctions
(1) Immediate, graduated, and individualized sanctions shall govern the responses of a specialized docket to a docket participant's noncompliance.
(2) The magnitude of the sanction should take into the relative ease with which the participant can achieve the desire behavior at that point in time.
(D) Therapeutic adjustment
Therapeutic adjustments in treatment services, as well as participation in community-based mutual support meetings, should be based upon the clinically informed needs of the participant.
Standard 9. Substance Monitoring.
(A) General
A specialized docket shall monitor each docket participant's substance use by random, frequent, and observed alcohol and other drug testing protocols that include all of the following:
(1) Written policies and procedures for sample collection, sample analysis, and result reporting. The testing policies and procedures shall address elements that contribute to the reliability and validity of the testing process.
(2) Individualized drug and alcohol testing plans;
(3) Testing protocols that ensure that all testing is random, frequent, and observed. Random testing shall be implemented in a manner so that the odds of being tested are the same on any given day of the week. Drug and alcohol testing shall be performed frequently enough to ensure substance use is detected quickly and reliably. The collection of test specimens shall be witnessed directly by a staff person who has been trained to prevent tampering and substitution of fraudulent specimens.
(B) Positive tests
(1) Testing positive, failure to submit to testing, submitting an adulterated sample or the sample of another individual, or diluting the sample shall be treated as positive tests.
(2) A specialized docket shall receive immediate notification of all positive tests.
(3) An appropriate sanction or therapeutic adjustment for all positive tests after entering a specialized docket program shall be immediately enforced and reinforced by the specialized docket judge.
(C) Sufficiency of testing
Testing shall be sufficient to include the participant's primary substance of use, as well as a sufficient range of other common substances.
(D) Compliance by agencies
All agencies conducting substance testing for use with the specialized docket shall comply with the requirements of this section.
Standard 10. Program Completion.
(A) Criteria
A specialized docket shall have written policies and criteria related to program completion that have been collaboratively developed, reviewed, and agreed upon by the advisory committee.
(B) Categories
The categories of completion for a specialized docket shall be "successful completion," "unsuccessful completion," and "neutral termination."
(C) Decision on termination
After affording participants any legal process to which they may be entitled, a specialized docket judge shall have discretion to decide the category of completion of the specialized docket and associated outcomes in accordance with the written criteria for the docket and after affording participants any legal process to which they may be entitled.
(D) No right to continued participation
The written legal and clinical eligibility and termination criteria do not create a right to continued participation in a specialized docket.
Standard 11. Professional Education.
(A) General
A specialized docket should assure continuing interdisciplinary education of advisory committee members, treatment team members, and personnel to promote effective specialized docket planning, implementation, and operations.
(B) Continuing education plan
A specialized docket should establish and maintain a viable continuing education plan for specialized docket personnel.
(C) Treatment team
(1) Treatment team members should make reasonable efforts to observe all required specialized docket service provider programs to gain confidence in the services provided and to better understand the treatment and programming process.
(2) A specialized docket should plan for the transition of a treatment team member and provide sufficient training and program document for new treatment team members.
(3) For consistency in the non-adversarial approach, prosecutors and defense counsel should be trained in specialized docket processes.
(D) Judicial knowledge
The specialized docket judge should be knowledgeable about treatment and programming methods and limitations of the methods.
Standard 12. Effectiveness Evaluation.
A specialized docket judge shall evaluate the effectiveness of the specialized docket by doing each of the following:
(A) Reporting data as required by the Supreme Court, including information to assess compliance with these standards;
(B) Engaging in on-going data collection in order to evaluate whether the specialized docket is meeting its goals and objectives;
(C) Establishing a data collection plan. The plan should identify who is collecting the data, how the data is collected, and the time frames for conducting program reviews based on the data. Treatment team members should provide data. The specialized docket should develop policies concerning protection of confidential information and identities when collecting data.
Standard 13. Constitutional and Due Process Rights.
A specialized docket shall comply with all constitutional and statutory rights of their participants. Any such rights that are permitted to be waived by said participants are to be done in a manner that ensures substantive due process rights of the participant. All certified specialized dockets shall comply with the "Constitutional and Due Process Guidance Document issued by the Commission on Specialized Dockets."
Ohio. R. Superi. Ct. XX app I