The Douglas County Adult Drug Court utilizes both incentives (positive reinforcements) and sanctions (negative reinforcements) throughout the participant’s program experience. Both reinforcing options are intended to provide the participant with feedback regarding their behavior. This feedback is intended to provide the participant with a valuable learning experience and aid the participant in making future decisions.
Incentives are court responses intended to reward a particular participant behavior in hopes that the behavior persists. Some examples of incentives used in the Adult Drug Court are:
- Verbal praise by the judge in open court
- Certificates of achievement handed out in open court accompanied by verbal praise for such things as phase advancement, sobriety lengths, pro-social behavior, completion of treatment services, etc.
- Reduction in court attendance frequency
- Monetary reinforcement(nonpayment of the monthly fee)
Sanctions are court responses intended to let the participant know that the behavior in question is not appropriate, not warranted and needs to stop. Sanctions are typically issued in court by the Drug Court Judge and are handed out in a graduated format, by degree and need and typically start low and increase gradually depending upon circumstances.
In connection to graduated sanctions, one must also understand the terms proximal and distal. Distinguishing between proximal and distal behavioral goals is essential to modifying habitual behaviors. Proximal goals are behaviors that participants are already capable of performing and are necessary for long-term objectives to be achieved. Distal goals are behaviors that are ultimately desired but will take some time for participants to accomplish. In the dispensing of sanctions, the Adult Drug Court must first determine whether a particular behavior is distal or proximal.
Some common sanctions found in the Adult Drug Court are:
- Verbal warning by the judge
- Writing assignments
- Community service hours
- Incarceration
Two main factors greatly influence the program length and the program outcome of every drug court participant. The first is a participant work capacity. Just how much work is the participant willing to layout as they progress through each of the phases? The second is program tolerance. Just how much is the court willing to put up with when it comes to participant work capacity? If the drug court team determines that it is working harder than the said participant, program termination will most likely ensue.