Eighth Judicial District Court Specialty Court Programs

The Eighth Judicial District Court operates thirteen Specialty Court programs, targeting individuals at various intercepts with the criminal justice system. The EJDC Adult Drug Court, established in 1992, was one of the first Drug Courts in the nation. Since that time, Specialty Courts have expanded to include the Transitional Aged Youth Drug Court, Felony DUI Court, Mental Health Court, Juvenile Drug Court, Veteran’s Treatment Court, Family Treatment Court, Co-Occurring Disorders Court, Gambling Treatment Court, DAAY Court, OPEN Court, and the LIMA Program.

Treatment Court Model

Specialty Courts are based on a treatment court model providing mental health and substance abuse treatment to clients involved in the criminal justice system in an effort to reduce recidivism risk and providing support for participants to gain life skills and educational advancement. All Specialty Court programs require participants to engage in individual and group substance abuse and mental health counseling (based on individual needs), random drug/alcohol testing, probation supervision, collaborative case management and regular court status checks.

Cost Savings

Specialty Court programs result in significant cost savings to the State of Nevada and Clark County by reducing public costs associated with monitoring, detaining and prosecuting criminal activity by state and county law enforcement and prosecution agencies. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) reports that for every $1.00 invested in Specialty Courts, taxpayers save as much as $3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs alone. When considering other costs associated with participants’ involvement in the criminal justice system, it is estimated that Specialty Courts save taxpayers $27.00 for every $1.00 invested by reducing victimization and healthcare service utilization.

NADCP findings indicate that Specialty Courts reduce crime 45% more than other sentencing options. Participants in Specialty Court programs are six times more likely to complete substance abuse treatment than those not involved in a judicial program. Without judicial oversight, 70% of substance-abusing offenders drop out of treatment.

Eligibility

While each Specialty Court program establishes independent criteria for admission, the primary eligibility factors for an individual to participant in the Specialty Courts are (1) an identified alcohol substance abuse disorder or SMI (serious mental illness) and (2) no history of violent offenses or drug trafficking.

  • Adult Drug Court: The ADC program is an 18-month court supervised comprehensive inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment program.
    Maria Job 702-671-3949 JobM@clarkcountycourts.us, Denise Eaton 702-455-1881 EatonD@clarkcountycourts.us, Allison Alegria 702-671-5219 AlegriaA@clarkcountycourts.us, Catherine Hill 702-671-3295 HillCa@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Felony DUI: The FDUI program is a three-to-five year program that offers intensive treatment and community supervision to participants who have at least three DUI charges within seven years.
    Divinia Jackson 702 455-6465 JacksonDav@clarkcountycourts.us, Catherine Hill 702-671-3295 HillCa@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Mental Health Court:  Mental Health Court is intended for individuals with chronic thought and/or mood disorders who may have struggled to stay out of the criminal justice and/or hospital systems due to a lack of adequate support in the community. Click here for the Handbook.
    Josephine Bonomo 702-671-3963  bonomoj@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Juvenile Drug Court: The Juvenile Drug Court Treatment program is a substance abuse/co-occurring program designed for youths, who are using high risk substances, are moderate to high risk on the YLS, with one of the identified needs as substance misuse treatment, had previous attempts at treatment or need a higher level of care currently. This program does not require prior previous attempts at treatment, it is based on clinical assessment, but the majority of youth in this track have had prior treatment episodes. This program could include inpatient residential substance abuse treatment, intensive outpatient and/or outpatient treatment.
    Eligibility: 14-17 years of age at time of the referral (exceptions will be staffed on a case by case bases), Identified alcohol/substance abuse disorder based on DSM-5 criteria, Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) score is medium/moderate to high risk
    Khristie Cury 702-455-5302 curyk@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Veterans Court: Veterans Court offers a court supervised outpatient treatment for veterans convicted of a felony. The program works collaboratively with the Veterans Administration to serve veterans with significant addiction and mental health issues that developed during or from their military service.
    Nicole Pisarczyk 702-671-3270 pisarczykn@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Family Treatment Court: The Family Treatment Drug Court is court supervised comprehensive outpatient substance abuse treatment for parents who struggle with substance use and whose children are involved in the child welfare system.
    RaShanna Stewart 702-455-1877 StewartR@clarkcountycourts.us
  • OPEN Program: The OPEN Court offers intensive behavioral modification programming for males and females, age 18 to 26 years of age, who have been incarcerated, with the goal of reintegrating them into their communities and connecting them with the community based resources, while working to address their court requirements.
    Nicole Pisarczyk 702-671-3270 pisarczykn@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Gambling Treatment Diversion Court: Gambling Treatment Diversion Court is a court supervised comprehensive outpatient treatment program for defendants with gambling problems and other addictive behaviors. Per NRS 458A defendants are eligible if they have been convicted of a crime that was committed in furtherance or as a result of problem gambling.
    Nicole Pisarczyk 702-671-3270 pisarczykn@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Transitional Age Drug Court Program (TAP): The TAP program is a minimum eighteen-month program that offers supervised comprehensive inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment program geared to meet the needs of participants 18-26 years of age.
    Nicole Pisarczyk 702-671-3270 pisarczykn@clarkcountycourts.us
  • LIMA Diversion Program: (Law Enforcement Intervention for Mental Health and Addiction) is a pre-booking diversion program developed to address low-level drug crimes and is a minimum of a 9 months. The LIMA Program allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level drug offenders to engage in community based services. By diverting eligible individuals to services, LVMPD is committed to improving public safety and public order and reducing criminal behavior of people who participate in the program. LVMPD Diversion helps move individuals away from the justice system without entering it.” Participants must have a chemical dependency issue and be willing to engage in treatment services throughout their participation in the LIMA Program. All social referrals must complete a screening and background check before admission.
    Angel Lash 702-671-3866 lasha@clarkcountycourts.us
  • MAT Re-Entry Court: The MAT Re-Entry program is a court-supervised treatment program for individuals on early-release from prison or those on parole who have an opioid and/or stimulant use disorder.
    Samantha Gowette 702-671-0743 gowettes@clarkcountycourts.us
  • Co-Occuring Disorders Court: Co-Occurring Disorders Court is a program that offers treatment specific to individuals with a history and diagnosis of both mental health and substance use disorders who require additional support to manage the effects of co-mingled diagnoses.
    Samantha Gowette 702-671-0743 gowettes@clarkcountycourts.us
  • DAAY Court: Detention Alternative for Autistic Youth (DAAY) is a court-supervised program for youth involved in the juvenile justice system with a primary diagnosis of Autism. Khristie Cury 702-455-5302 curyk@clarkcountycourts.us
  • IMPACT Treatment Court: IMPACT Program is a substance abuse program designed to address youth with a cannabis use only diagnosis. The IMPACT Program serves males and females, age 12-18 years of age . The program is a 12-week group, utilizing the Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MET-CBT) for Adolescent Cannabis Users curriculum. Monthly court appearances to monitor program compliance. If a higher level of care is found more appropriate the case will be staffed for appropriateness for Juvenile Drug Court to ensure the needs of the youth are addressed.
    Sara DeMunda (702) 455-5134, DeMundaS@clarkcountycourts.us
  • EMPOWER Court Program: The EMPOWER Court Program addresses adolescent/family domestic violence through early intervention, ensuring the entire family system is assessed and treated within the court program. This program provides support for youth and their family through education, group therapy, and counseling specific to the youth and the family members involved. The program consists of 22-week evidence-based Step-Up Curriculum, Collaborative case management, and referrals to community resources and providers.
    Jenise Johnson 702-455-2293 JohnsonJen@clarkcountycourts.us; Khristie Curry 702-455-5302, curyk@clarkcountycourts.us

Application Process

To learn more about each Specialty Court program, contact the Specialty Court Administrator Lindsey Lee at 702-671-5220 or LeeLi@clarkcountycourts.us. To apply for a Specialty Court program, please complete the Specialty Court Application available above and follow the submission instructions on the first page.