For her final individual capstone project, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service student Ashley Jones of Piedmont, South Carolina, studied the Arkansas Drug Court System.
Jones partnered with the Arkansas Supreme Court to investigate the costs and benefits of Drug Courts in Arkansas. Through this partnership, she gathered information about the funding that is allocated to the drug court program as well as how, and how effectively, this money has been used. The study also compared the costs of drug court to those of jails, prisons, and addiction. In addition, she conducted interviews with experts that currently work in the drug court system.
Jones used the data to create, 1) a cost-benefit analysis of the Arkansas Drug Court System; 2) an executive summary that provides highlights from the full report; and 3) a pamphlet that gives a brief view of the costs and benefits of the Arkansas Drug Court System.
“We appreciate the work Ashley has done to study whether drug courts are effective not only in terms of cost, but also effective at keeping people out of prison, with their families, in recovery, and working in their communities. Often the intangibles are more valuable than the things we can count,” said Stephanie Harris, Arkansas Supreme Court Communications Counsel.
“As Arkansas policy-makers discuss the need to spend millions on new prisons,” Harris said, “there are existing programs that reduce the costs within our criminal justice system. Not only do the drug courts save the state money, they also keep people from reoffending and help them become productive citizens again. We hope that in the future more resources can be provided to expand these successful programs.”
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