Colorado State Judicial Branch - Administration - Planning and Analysis

Problem solving courts offer a non-traditional approach to integrating treatment provision and criminal justice case processing. These courts rely on close collaboration by multidisciplinary teams, including members from the judicial and treatment communities, to provide both accountability and treatment and services to offenders to reduce substance abuse and recidivism. Borne out of concern over the dramatic increases in substance abusing offenders in the criminal justice system in the late 1980s, drug courts were the first type of problem solving court to emerge, with the first drug court being established in Dade County, Florida in 1989. Since that time, the drug court model has been expanded to address a number of other underlying issues beyond substance abuse. A growing body of research has not only found problem solving courts to be effective at reducing recidivism, but also that these courts provide a significant cost savings to the criminal justice system. Problem solving courts have become an important part of the criminal justice landscape and the Center for Court Innovation estimates there are more than 2,300 problem solving courts across all 50 states.

There are more than 70 problem solving courts in operation across 22 judicial districts in the State of Colorado. Available problem solving court programs include: adult and juvenile drug courts, DUI courts, adult and juvenile mental health courts, family and dependency/neglect courts and Veteran’s treatment courts. More information on specific types of problem solving courts can be found under the programs tab.

The Problem Solving Court Advisory Committee was established by Chief Justice Mullarkey in March of 2008. This Committee was charged with the tasks of addressing compliance to the key components of problem solving courts, staffing models, funding models, program evaluation, and sustainability. The Problem Solving Court Advisory Committee has been working to develop a Colorado Problem Solving Courts Best Practices Manual to guide and inform problem solving court operations across the state. The most recent Problem Solving Court Advisory Committee Order signed in 2012 is available here.

A Training and Education Subcommittee was formed in 2012 to develop guidelines for Colorado problem solving courts for training and education. The Training and Education Subcommittee has developed Training and Education Guidelines for Adult Drug Courts, which were adopted into the Colorado Problem Solving Courts Best Practices Manual. The Training and Education Subcommittee is also developing a phased curriculum of trainings and resources, with an initial focus on essential trainings for new members. The current listing of trainings and resources can be found in Training and Education Recommended Resources under Adult Drug or Treatment Court, or by clicking here.

Additionally, in 2013, a Fidelity Subcommittee is being formed to address the consistent and ongoing implementation and measurement of best practices in Colorado problem solving courts.