The New York City-based Center for Court Innovation, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, has developed a series of free online training courses through its new National Drug Court Online Learning System (www.drugcourtonline.org/). Most drug court professionals learn on the job or through conferences and training. But that’s changing. “Remote learning has become a much more common method of learning and training,” says Valerie Raine, Director of the Center. “They can go to this site on their own time and at their own pace and get a pretty good handle on drug court.” The Center has also gone to great lengths to assure that these course offerings are relevant to rural drug court personnel. The Center’s online training offerings include video lessons from national experts on the following topics: Understanding Drug Use and Addiction, Treatment Modalities, Cultural Competency, Essential Components of a Successful Drug Testing Program, Sanctions and Incentives, Confidentiality, Trauma Informed Care Responses for Drug Courts, Legal Representation of the Non-Citizen, Maximizing Participant Interactions: "Transference" Revealed, Prescription Medication Abuse: Knowledge and Skills for Drug Court Practitioners, Changing the Direction of Methamphetamine Addiction. Courses are continually being updated and new ones developed. There are also interviews with practitioners and guided tours of drug courts, as well as a resource library of documents and reference tools.
Additionally, there are numerous webinars covering a wide range of drug court-relevant topics posted on the websites of the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI.org) and the BJA Drug Court Technical Assistance Project at American University (www.american.edu/justice) and the Tribal Law and Policy (www.tribal-institute.org).
On-site technical assistance is also available through the BJA Drug Court Technical Assistance Collaborative (American University, National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Tribal Law and Policy Institute, and Center for Court Innovation). Additional resources include: the National Rural Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Children and Family Futures, and other organizations. Other resources include: Treatment Improvement Protocols (monograph publications from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-Center for Substance Abuse Treatment), regional Addiction Treatment and Training Centers, state drug court associations, local colleges and universities.