State report outlines treatment-court expansion options, highlights access and capacity gaps

The Judiciary Committee heard a work-group summary from the Office of Behavioral Health on expanding treatment and problem-solving courts across Maine. Kristin McCauley, deputy director of OBH, said the group reviewed access, capacity, eligibility criteria and national best practices and produced recommendations intended to support existing courts and identify realistic expansion steps.

"Right now we have 14 total operating courts," McCauley told the committee, including eight adult drug courts, a co-occurring disorders court, two veterans courts and three family recovery courts; one additional adult drug court was described as coming online in July. The work group found geography, limited treatment capacity (withdrawal management, OTPs, residential care), transportation and housing barriers as the chief obstacles to broader access.

The report emphasizes program visibility, standardization of procedures, training and an independent evaluation (last done in 2020) to measure outcomes and fidelity to national best practices. The group also recommends exploring virtual participation and telehealth as tools to mitigate rural access challenges. McCauley said the full report and data are forthcoming.

Elizabeth Simone of Maine Pretrial Services told the committee that Pretrial's contracts were terminated in Penobscot and Knox counties this year and that those changes could affect referrals to treatment courts. "When we have someone that presents with risks that are too high ... we automatically refer to treatment court," Simone said; she stressed that the change in local pretrial providers could alter referral patterns and urged continued coordination.

Committee members asked about measuring outcomes and whether expansion should wait for the upcoming evaluation. McCauley said the evaluation is starting and will inform decisions about whether and where courts should expand. The committee did not take legislative action and asked for the full report and cost estimates to be submitted for future consideration.