All offenders under supervision by this department are screened for drug addictive behaviors. Using screening and assessment instruments like the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Instrument (SASSI), and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), offenders who are identified as drug dependent are referred for treatment. Individual treatment plans are devised by a consortium of agencies and this department.

425 N. Kansas
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: (915) 542-2886

Ysleta Treatment Center
9521 Socorro Rd., Bldg A-4
El Paso, TX 79907
Phone: (915) 859-0283
Fax: (915) 859-9742

The 384th Adult Drug Court Program is a partnership between private, non-profit, and public entities united to address the exasperating problem of handling drug-abusing offenders.

Historically, jails and prisons are inundated with non-violent drug offenders who are often placed on lengthy waiting lists for treatment or are released back to the community without receiving treatment at all. Consequently these individuals revert back to criminal behavior because their needs are not expediently identified or met in a traditional court setting. The El Paso Drug Court emerged as a response to this problem by providing a nonadversarial approach to assisting the offender in abstaining from drugs and crime and ultimately reducing the recidivism rate among those served through the program.

El Paso is the sixth largest County in the state of Texas with a population of 679,622 (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). The County's close proximity to the Mexican border and easy access to Interstates 10 and 25 has earned El Paso the label of being a high -intensity drug trafficking area making drugs accessible to area drug users (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Survey 1999).

The Drug Court movement that began in Miami in 1989 has swept through all fifty states and is viewed as a promising method of rehabilitating offenders and an alternative to incarceration. The Office of National Drug Control Policy is reporting abstinence rates of 84%-98% for drug court program Clients and a recidivism rate of 2% - 20% for drug court graduates (ONDCP 2001).

If an El Paso Criminal Drug Court can replicate these results we may have a fighting chance at impacting the lives of the people served through the program as well as the community of El Paso at large.

The 384th District Re-Entry Court Treatment Program is a partnership between private, non-profit, and public entities united to address the exasperating problem of handling drug-abusing offenders.

Historically, jails and prisons are inundated with non-violent drug offenders who are often placed on lengthy waiting lists for treatment or are released back to the community without receiving treatment at all. Consequently these individuals revert back to criminal behavior because their needs are not expediently identified or met in a traditional court setting. The El Paso Drug Court emerged as a response to this problem by providing a nonadversarial approach to assisting the offender in abstaining from drugs and crime and ultimately reducing the recidivism rate among those served through the program.

El Paso is the sixth largest County in the state of Texas with a population of 679,622 (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). The County's close proximity to the Mexican border and easy access to Interstates 10 and 25 has earned El Paso the label of being a high -intensity drug trafficking area making drugs accessible to area drug users (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Survey 1999).

The Drug Court movement that began in Miami in 1989 has swept through all fifty states and is viewed as a promising method of rehabilitating offenders and an alternative to incarceration. The Office of National Drug Control Policy is reporting abstinence rates of 84%-98% for drug court program Clients and a recidivism rate of 2% - 20% for drug court graduates (ONDCP 2001).

If an El Paso Criminal Drug Court can replicate these results we may have a fighting chance at impacting the lives of the people served through the program as well as the community of El Paso at large.

The West Texas Community Supervision and Corrections Department (WTCSCD) designed the Mental Health/ Mental Retardation Caseload (MHMRC) to provide more intensive supervision for those offenders suffering from mental illness or mental retardation. It is difficult to supervise these offenders because of the lack of services in the El Paso region, therefore leaving these offenders unequipped with the necessary linkages to medication, treatment, and community services that will be needed to maintain a crime free and drug-free lifestyle. These problems are further exacerbated when offenders with mental impairments also have substance abuse problems.

The task of supervising offenders with mental illness or mental retardation encompasses monitoring a caseload and assuring that the individual is receiving the necessary services required to stabilize the offender in the community. In an effort to stabilize the probationer, the CSO may refer the offender for psychiatric services and outpatient and residential treatment. Additionally, offenders may take advantage of obtaining their General Equivalency Diploma and receiving employment readiness training by utilizing existing WTCSCD programs.

The MHMRC is part of the Intensive Probation Program under specialized caseloads and is therefore able to accept cases from existing intermediate sanctions. Eligible participants of MHMRC are male and female, misdemeanor and felony offenders who are referred to the program by the courts or through the normal procedures of the WTCSCD. Placement on the MHMRC will be based upon the outcome of a screening and assessment process conducted by the Supervisor of Special Programs. This process is designed to determine eligibility and appropriateness for additional services or referrals.