Edmonton Drug Treatment & Community Restoration Court

The EDTCRC is based on the principle of utilizing existing agencies, resources, programs and the community in conjunction with program coordination and administration by in-house staff. The Program is not creating a new or separate treatment program, or a one-stop storefront. It is important that observers and the public understand that the DTC Treatment Program does not offer participants significant services not otherwise available to all citizens. However, this is not to mean that there are not special features to the Program, or that the governing bodies, Court Team and Program Staff will take steps or make recommendations and engage in inter-agency dialog to make existing programs or services more effective.

 

In addition, DTC Program staff, with the research assistance and advice of AADAC and other partners and consultants have and will develop treatment and counselling program elements that are not offered elsewhere, which will be contracted (normally) or if necessary delivered in-house. One example is related to assessment and treatment regarding criminal thinking and behavioural responses. The same may be the case with post-traumatic stress disorder (or, indicators of PTSD), or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) or effects (FAE). In addition, AADAC and other treatment providers may make (and have made) special rules and procedures for intake, accessibility, assessment and otherwise providing services to program participants. This is more complex with dual-diagnosis participants, but applicants displaying co-morbidity are welcome into the Edmonton DTC program.

 

An important matter concerns assessment and the collection of information about a participant. Program staff utilize a series of assessments and interviews during the first phases of the program. A variety of assessment and intake instruments are used. The Treatment and Health Care Working Group, in conjunction with the Program Evaluation Working Group (lead by Dr. Cameron Wild of the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta) have chosen what they consider the most effective and broadly accepted and validated instruments. In addition, a cooperative dialog has been established to provide and share information so as to reduce the repetition that a participant will face as they go through intake and assessment procedures when they access a variety of services and programs, from a variety of providers in the Edmonton area. This process is complicated with contemporary regulation of personal information, including freedom of information legislation and legal protection of health care records.