Champaign County Drug Court

Awards

The Honorable Jeffrey B. Ford, JD was named Public Citizen of the Year for 2012 by the National Association of Social Workers. For more information about this award click here.

Judge Ford is also a nominee to the 2013 Drug Court Hall of Fame in recognition of his fourteen years leading Champaign County's Drug Court. For more information about this award click here.

Accomplishments

Three out of every four Drug Court graduates do not commit a new crime within four years of graduation. Since Drug Court not only addresses addiction, but also lifestyle, businesses and citizens are no longer victimized to support the participants' addictions. Because of Drug Court, Champaign County is a safer place to live and work.

According to Judge Ford, "It's nice for the taxpayers to know we're not just incarcerating everyone, and doing away with them. We're trying to get these people to become productive citizens and turn their lives around. This isn't easy!"

Drug Court is cost-effective for our community. The cost to taxpayers for incarcerating a defendant is approximately $24,000 per year. The cost of treatment for a Drug Court participant is approximately $5,000 per year. Therefore, an individual's participation in the program saves the community $19,000 per year. When all totaled, the citizens of Champaign County and the State of Illinois have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the success of Drug Court.

According to Drug Court graduate Brian H., "I am no longer a lying, angry guy with an overpowering sense of entitlement. I like who I am now and all the things I'm doing for myself and my family. I owe Drug Court and the people associated with it everything that I have in my life right now. They also taught me that just because I'm a felon that doesn't mean my life is over."