Adult Drug Court celebrates its 20th anniversary in the East Central Judicial District

Fargo, North Dakota – Adult Drug Court celebrated its 20th anniversary in the East Central Judicial District.

Adult Drug Court is a program that focuses on treatment under court supervision.

The program targets participants who are willing, high-risk, and high-need and whose primary issues are caused by substance use disorders.

Participants can get help with education and skill evaluation, recommendations for employment training, and services for job placement.

Adult Drug School Graduate Jessica Hibl says, “Drug court just really established a really great treatment program along with probation accountability, presented a lot of resources to me that I probably wouldn’t have been able to find on my own.”

The progress of the participant determines the length of the program, which is at least 14 months.

Judge John Irby of East Central Judicial District said, “The requirements to graduate from drug court are quite high, it takes a lot of work to get through drug court and to watch people work through the progressions is very rewarding.”

The Adult Drug Court commemorated its 20th anniversary and two graduates.

If the drug court program is completed and graduated successfully, probation conditions may be changed, probation may end sooner, and criminal charges may be dropped.

Several graduates spoke at this unique event about the effect the program had on them and the people in their lives.

Hibl also said, “When you were in addiction you were trying to get back to where you were before that really that’s not the case. You’re just trying to find your new self and so drug court did exactly that.”

One of the two graduates from the anniversary event was Hibl.