| Fourth Judicial District Recovery Court to hold graduation |
Friday, July 16, 2021
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Fourth Judicial District Recovery Court announced that 11 participants will be honored at a graduation ceremony on July 22, 2021.
These individuals successfully overcame felony convictions and completed the Court’s rigorous program, which includes a minimum of two years of intensive supervised probation, multiple levels of treatment services. Through their hard work, they have regained their lives through continued sobriety and reconnection with employers, their families, and the community.
With the use of comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programs, the Fourth Judicial District (El Paso and Teller counties) Recovery Court serves the community and promotes public safety by reducing the criminal recidivism rate of individuals who commit crimes as a result of clinically diagnosed substance use disorders. The multi-disciplinary program involves a team of professionals led by Magistrate Daphne Burlingame, including the court judicial assistant, court coordinators, probation officers, community-based treatment providers, sheriff’s deputies, representatives from the District Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office, and many local community agencies dedicated to serving our population living in recovery.
The Fourth Judicial District’s original drug court was one of the first drug courts in the state, established in 1999 and implemented in 2000. Now a Colorado-accredited Problem Solving Court, the Fourth Judicial District Recovery Court serves approximately 300 participants per year. Throughout the pandemic, Recovery Court staff and community partners worked diligently to remain open, providing uninterrupted services to program participants and accepting 85 new participants. In total, the program served 236 participants during the pandemic. From March 2020 through June 2021, 73 participants graduated in small monthly ceremonies. In its history, Recovery Court has graduated over 1000 participants.
Nearly 80 problem-solving courts are in operation around Colorado, including adult and juvenile drug courts, family/dependency and neglect drug courts, DUI courts, adult and juvenile mental health courts, veteran trauma courts, and truancy courts.