The alumni program at the Rochester, N.Y., drug treatment court, called "Clean Slate," is one of the longest running programs. Rochester is a Demand Treatment! Partner.

All drug treatment court graduates are eligible to join Clean Slate. Members provide peer counseling and sit on a relapse panel. They also speak to at meetings of local civic organizations, and at treatment court orientation and graduation ceremonies.

Meetings are held at the courthouse, which is a "very empowering experience," said Lorraine Beeman, coordinator of the Monroe County Drug Treatment Court. "Participants have a real sense of pride coming into a courtroom, not as a defendant, but as a celebrant. They also get to see the judges in a different light. They talk to them about what works and doesn't work. They really relish the opportunity to give feedback to a judge."

While Rochester's alumni program has about 25 active members, even a few people can provide invaluable support to current treatment court participants.

For more information, read "Good Beginnings: Development and Maintenance of Drug Court Alumni Groups," a free technical assistance document available from the Office of Justice Programs Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance Project at American University.

"Good Beginnings: Development and Maintenance of Drug Court Alumni Groups" is available as a PDF document. The PDF file is 395KB and requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader for downloading.