Court Services

Hours of Operation: 8:15 am – 4:00 pm

Director: Dora Lupo, MS, MAC, CASAC

FAQs:

What services are provided by the above programs?
Clinical staff from the Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol work together with the Judges, District Attorney’s Office, and defense attorneys to engage defendants in treatment. This collaborative effort is designed to focus on chemical dependency issues that may have contributed to the offenses and to prevent recidivism into the criminal justice system. Completion of treatment may, at the discretion of the District Attorney and/or Judge result in a lesser sentence/plea; and in some cases, participants will avoid incarceration. In these programs participants receive clinical assessments, treatment recommendations and placements, case management, treatment progress reports to the Court, and crisis interventions.

What are the eligibility requirements?
To be eligible for court services, the following conditions must be met:

Drug Treatment Court – Must be at least 21 years of age, facing a sentence of 90 days in jail, or have two prior criminal convictions. Alcohol or substance abuse must have contributed to the pending charge. Charges must be misdemeanors and violations with no pending Felony charges. The participant must acknowledge having a problem with chemical dependency and be willing to participate in treatment for one year.

Community Court – Must have an identifiable problem that contributed to unlawful conduct such as substance abuse, mental health issues, educational/vocational deficits, anger management, poor decision making or coping skills. Charges must be misdemeanors and violations with no pending felony charges.

Family Treatment Court – Participants are eligible if they have an open Child Protective Services case and are in need of treatment for chemical dependency, social services, housing, education or employment.

S.T.E.P. Program - Participants are referred by the Court for clinical assessment to determine treatment needs following charges indicating first-time DWI or DUI offenses.

Is participation in the court programs voluntary?
Participation in the three court programs is voluntary.

Are there fees for these programs?
Due to the collaboration among the Office of Court Administration, Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol addiction, Nassau County Department of Social Services, Nassau County district Attorney’s Office and Nassau County Legal Aid, all services are provided free of charge.