Juvenile Drug Court

Judges

The Honorable Christopher G. Perez

Program Coordinator

Joseph Rinaldi

Probation Officer

Patrick McHale

Mission Statement

The Sandoval County Juvenile Drug Court is a program designed to address the particular needs of Sandoval County juveniles in the legal system who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. The program consists of regular drug testing, counseling sessions, and court appearances in order to teach the skills to maintain a sober lifestyle and support the participant and their family in the process.

Goals and Objectives

The Sandoval County Juvenile Drug Court strives to connect the participants to their community, their families and to their educational and vocational goals.This connection is established through community alliances with local schools, businesses and state and local governments. The goals and objectives of the program are:

• Help Sandoval County juveniles live a life free of drugs and alcohol
• Reduce or eliminate recidivism in program participants
• Encourage and facilitate education and employment
• Provide individualized therapy for participants and their families
• Serve the largest number of juvenile offenders as possible.

History

Sandoval County Juvenile Drug Court was created by 13th Judicial District Court Chief Judge Louis P. McDonald in 2000. Since it began, the program has served over 200 juveniles.

Juvenile Drug Court is held every Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the Sandoval County District Courthouse.

Adult Drug Court

Judge

The Honorable George P. Eichwald

Program Coordinator

Karen McCutcheon

Drug Court Probation Officer

Patrick McHale

Mission Statement

The mission of the Sandoval County Adult Drug Court is to take a proactive approach to substance abuse to foster safer communities by reducing the number of repeat offenders, and provide a continuum of services for substance abusers by utilizing multi-discipline, community based treatment and supervision to lower the cost of incarceration for substance offenders.

Goals and Objectives

1. Goal: Create a safer community through reduced recidivism.
   • Objective #1: Reduce recidivism by one half.
   • *Recidivism means any drug or alcohol non-trafficking / misdemeanor / felony conviction.
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2. Goal: Reduce substance abuse among drug court participants. 
   • Objective #1: Create innovative, intensive supervision program for drug court participants.
   • Objective #2: Create intensive, individualized treatment program.
   • Objective #3: Create an aftercare plan for each graduate.
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3. Goal: Provide substantial cost savings to the community. 
   • Objective #1: The cost per client per day in Drug Court averages about $13.42 compared to $64.00 per inmate per day it costs to be housed in the Sandoval County Detention Center.

​History

Drug courts have been proven to be a cost effective approach to treating substance abusing adults. The Sandoval County Adult Drug Court Program began in July of 2005 with twelve (12) participants. Since that time, the program has expanded to at least twice that size. Participants accepted into the Drug Court Program may have case types that include pre-indictment, post indictment, post sentence and probation violations.

The Sandoval County Adult Drug Court consists of a strong team under the leadership of District Court Judge George P. Eichwald. The team is comprised of representatives from the Adult Probation/Parole Department, various Treatment Providers, Local Law Enforcement, the Office of the District Attorney, the Office of the Public Defenders and members of the community.

Drug Court Hearings are held every Wednesday at 8 a.m. in the Sandoval County District Courthouse 1500 Idalia Rd. Bldg. A Bernalillo, NM 87004.