Adult Treatment Court

The Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas instituted a voluntary Adult Treatment Court in 2006 based on proven national research and program models. The program provides participants an opportunity to pursue treatment for their addiction(s) while productively addressing associated legal problems. There is currently one probation/parole officer assigned to the Adult Treatment Court team.
Adult Treatment Court
Once accepted into the program, participants can expect frequent contact with the Adult Treatment Court judge, probation/parole officer, and treatment providers. They will be required to complete a four-phase program culminating with graduation. The phase program was designed to be completed in 18 months. Following graduation, when appropriate, participants may petition the court to dismiss and/or reduce their charges or have their records expunged.

Program participants will be expected to complete and participate in numerous prosocial and treatment-oriented activities. These include Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and/or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings, group and individual therapy, weekly court appearances, probation appointments, and urine testing. The previously mentioned recommendations represent typical participant activities. Other activities should be expected as each participant may require different levels of intervention based on his or her progress in the treatment court program.

Adult Treatment Court participants can also expect to receive sanctions if they violate treatment court program rules or fail to achieve phase requirements. Possible violations include missed appointments, failed or adulterated urine tests, new arrests and/or charges, or lack of participation in treatment. Sanctions will be imposed relative to the violation, but will be graduated or progressive in nature. The sanctions may include demotion in phase, fines, curfew restrictions, incarceration, and/or termination from the treatment court program. The Adult Treatment Court team reserves the right to impose sanctions appropriate to the individual participant and violation.

Participants who maintain positive participation in the Adult Treatment Court program may receive appropriate incentives as well. These incentives will be determined by the team and will be dependent on available resources.

If you are interested in making application to the Adult Treatment Court program, please contact your attorney or the Adult Treatment Court coordinator at 717.240.5341.

Program Accreditation 

The Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas received its Certificate of Accreditation for its treatment court from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on June 10, 2016. The recognition certifies Cumberland County’s treatment court uses nationally recognized standards in evidence-based practices for its treatment court program operations. These standards are based on many years of research in the drug court model for adult drug and DUI courts. The accreditation is valid for a three-year period.

The purpose of the accreditation process is to assess a problem-solving court’s compliance to the “Ten Key Components of Drug Courts” and utilization of best practices recognized in this area of criminal justice. Unique to Cumberland County’s treatment court, the program is sustained by an annual budget item from the county’s Criminal Justice Planning and Intermediate Punishment Program office and a $5 weekly participant fee. The Supreme Court accreditation is beneficial to the court when applying for competitive grants to ensure this program remains a viable alternative to incarceration.