Florida Problem-Solving Court Best Practices
Background
Best practices for problem-solving courts clearly define the practices that problem-solving courts should implement in order to adhere to evidence-based principles which have been shown to improve overall court outcomes. The Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards were developed by the Task Force on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues in the Courts and approved by the Supreme Court of Florida in September 2017. The standards are based primarily on the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards, Vol. I (2013) and Vol. II (2015), published by All Rise (formerly the National Association of Drug Court Professionals).
Since their initial development, both volumes of the All Rise Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards were revised in 2018. The Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards were updated to align with these revisions, and to align with sets of best practices for other types of problem-solving courts in Florida, which also considered the national Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards released by the Center for Children and Family Futures and All Rise in 2019.
In addition, the multidisciplinary Dependency Court Improvement Panel developed best practice standards for early childhood courts, which are based largely on research and analysis that has been conducted on Safe Babies Court Team sites in other states as well as research and analysis of specific early childhood evidence-based interventions. The Florida Supreme Court adopted the Florida Early Childhood Court Best Practice Standards in November 2019.
In 2023, the Florida Supreme Court approved the Florida Dependency Drug Court Best Practice Standards, the Florida Adult Mental Health Court Best Practice Guidelines, and the Florida Veterans Court Best Practice Guidelines.
The Florida Dependency Drug Court Best Practice Standards are based on the national Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards developed by Children and Family Futures and All Rise through funding support by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The Florida Dependency Drug Court Best Practice Standards include Florida-specific guidelines and mandates that align with Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards and Florida Early Childhood Best Practice Standards as pertinent.
The Florida Adult Mental Health Court Best Practice Guidelines are based on the Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards, and the Essential Elements of Mental Health Courts, published by the Council of State Governments Justice Center for the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Florida Veterans Court Best Practice Guidelines are based on the Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards, and the Ten Key Components of Veterans Treatment Courts, published by Justice for Vets, a division of All Rise. These best practices are guidelines instead of standards because robust research has not been conducted on these problem-solving court types. Though adult drug courts have been the focus of the vast majority of research and analysis, adult drug courts, adult mental health courts, and veterans courts share many of the same key components, operational practices and procedures, legal guidelines, and treatment services.
Standards and guidelines are currently being developed for Florida's other problem-solving court types.
Approved Standards
Florida Adult Drug Courts
Florida Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards
Florida Early Childhood Courts
Florida Early Childhood Court Best Practice Standards
Florida Early Childhood Court Best Practice Commentary
Florida Dependency Drug Courts
Florida Dependency Drug Court Best Practice Standards
Florida Dependency Drug Court Best Practice Commentary
Approved Guidelines
Florida Adult Mental Health Courts
Florida Adult Mental Health Court Best Practice Guidelines