Stephanie A. Clark, Esq.,

Stephanie A. Clark, Esq.,

Coordinator Windsor County DUI Treatment Docket

          As an attorney with experience as a court magistrate, Stephanie Clark is no stranger to the ways of local judiciaries, including the Windsor County Superior Court in White River Junction, Vt., where she is serving as coordinator of the county’s DUI Treatment Docket.

          Clark found her way to that destination, partly by the pull of New England where she attended law school (in Springfield, Mass.) but more because of the evidence demonstrating the value of stand-alone courts serving people with addictions.

          “The more I learn and am exposed to all the models,” such as the stand-alone DUI unit she  coordinates in Vermont, “the more I see the increased public safety while costs are being reduced and lives are being saved ,” Clark says. “I’m so impressed with the work being done.”

          Still, Clark believes much work remains, in Vermont and elsewhere in the region, and she singles out several areas where attention must be paid:

·       Education – “All the stakeholders really need to understand the differences in the [stand-alone] models of problem solving courts and how they operate,” she says.

·       Resources – The lack of financial and other forms of public support is “the biggest challenge” for drug court professionals, especially in states where fiscal deficits loom large.

·       Public perception – The stigma of addiction persists, and it places “so much pressure” on those struggling with addictions, she says, noting that establishment of a community advisory committee is in the works for the DUI docket “to grow a broader support system for people in recovery in our community.”

As for the requirement that drug courts receiving federal funds must comply with Medication Assisted Treatment, Clark reports that MAT is available and being used in Vermont when it is believed appropriate for use by individual drug court clients. “It’s an important piece in their stability and recovery,” she says. But, she adds, there are not enough providers of the treatment and “the wait lists are so long.”

Even with the challenges facing drug courts, Clark remains optimistic that drug court professionals working in all manner of problem solving courts will be able to sustain them, expand them, and bring them into in line with national standards – all in keeping with the motto for NEADCP’s upcoming conference: “Where Justice and Treatment Meet: The New Standard for  Excellence.”