(Annapolis, MD — March 30, 2005) A $132,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention will help the Drug Treatment Court Commission of Maryland compile more complete data on the state’s drug treatment courts. The Commission learned in a January 28, 2005, letter that the funding has been awarded through the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant.

Collaborating with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services and the University of Maryland Bureau of Governmental Research, the Commission will use the funding to create a unified electronic drug court management information system, beginning with established juvenile drug court programs in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Harford County. This grant will enable the Commission to enhance the University of Maryland's Automated Tracking System (HATS) to include those data elements necessary for juvenile drug courts in Maryland to monitor client and program progress.

“Right now nobody is speaking the same language, even though we’re all speaking about drug courts,” said Gray Barton, executive director of the Drug Treatment Court Commission. “This project will ensure that future requests for data on drug courts can be obtained from a statewide system that includes complete, consistent, and reliable information.”

Next year, in the second phase of the project, the Commission plans to shift the focus to adult drug courts. Ultimately the Commission plans to develop and maintain a unified drug court Management Information System for drug courts throughout Maryland. “We are looking for this grant to be a model for future programs, not just drug court programs,” Barton said.

For more information, please contact the Court Information Office at 410/260-1488.