Ravalli County Treatment Court Graduation

You are warmly invited to join us for our upcoming Treatment Court graduation to celebrate this huge achievement for four participants on June 21st, 2023.

The Adult Treatment Court is a voluntary program which lasts 15-18 months. This program is a post-adjudication drug court – individuals have been convicted of a felony offense prior to beginning the program. This program provides individuals the opportunity to change their life circumstances and become alcohol and other drug free. The Twenty-First Judicial District’s drug court was established in 2021.

Through hard work, participants have regained their lives by maintaining recovery and reconnection with employers, their families, and the community.
Establishing and maintaining recovery is accomplished by:
• Regular court appearances and immediate sanctions, incentives, and treatment adjustments in response to behavior
• Maintaining a significant period of recovery with no positive drug tests for a minimum of six consecutive months. In the case of our graduates, their sobriety has been considerably longer, with over 16 months clean and sober
• Abiding by the intensive supervision provided by Probation and Parole
• Paying all program fees and fines in full
• Maintaining consistent attendance at all court appearances and treatment appointments
• Demonstrating an understanding of personal problems associated with alcohol and other drug use and criminal behavior and the need for honesty to achieve a stable recovery
• Maintaining a stable living arrangement and a productive lifestyle through employment and/or training or education
• Possessing a definitive recovery management/aftercare plan which may include 12-step meetings, maintaining sobriety and other personalized individual goals as stated in their long-term recovery management plan

With the use of comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programming, the Twenty-First Judicial District (Ravalli) Treatment Court serves the community and promotes public safety by reducing the rate of criminal recidivism of individuals who commit crimes because of clinically diagnosed substance use dependency. Honesty and individual accountability are at the foundation of the drug treatment court program. The multi-disciplinary program involves a team of professionals led by District Court Judge Howard Recht, including the court’s drug coordinator, a probation officer, community-based treatment providers (Western Montana Treatment Services and Sapphire Community Health), a sheriff’s deputy, an Assistant County Attorney and a representative from the Public Defender’s Office, and other local community agency representatives dedicated to serving the population living in recovery.

The formal court hearing for all Treatment Court participants is open to the public will be held from 4-5 PM upstairs in Courtroom 1 at the Ravalli County Courthouse, located at 205 Bedford Street in Hamilton, with a celebration ceremony and banquet following from 5-7 PM, held across the street at the Hamilton City Hall, located at 223 S 2nd Street in Hamilton. The ceremony will include speeches from our graduates and a presentation of letters of recognition for our grads from Senator John Tester’s office.

We would absolutely love to have you there. Please RSVP to let me know whether you will be able to join us!

Thank you for your support of our participants in Treatment Court and for the community.

-Jamie

Jamie Bassell
Treatment Court Coordinator
21st Judicial District
205 Bedford Street
Hamilton, MT 59840
406-459-7193
jamie.bassell@mt.gov