Anchorage Wellness Court Evaluation

Anchorage Wellness Court is a therapeutic court intended to assist alcoholic offenders who have committed misdemeanor offenses and who want to overcome their alcoholic addiction. Eligible defendants who opt-in to the program agree to follow the Wellness Court Treatment Plan, which includes specific treatment measures, regular appearances before theWellness Court judge, monitoring for continued sobriety over an 18-month period, employment and/or school attendance, and other requirements aimed at helping the offender to overcome alcohol addiction and avoid reoffending. Wellness Court raduates generally receive reduced sentences and thus minimize jail time on their current case.

The Anchorage Wellness Court Evaluation is a collaborative project between the UAA Justice Center, the Alaska Judicial Council, and the Urban Institute to (1) assess the outcomes of the Wellness Court program, including reductions in criminal recidivism and alcohol abuse and improvements in defendant quality of life and productivity; (2) to establish the costs and benefits of the Wellness Court program; (3) to assess the transferability of the Wellness Court model to other organizations and locales; and (4) to provide policymakers, legislators, courts, and academics with information on the application of drug court models to defendants with alcohol abuse programs. The Justice Center is responsible for overall project management and the outcome evaluation; the Alaska Judicial Council for the transferability analysis; and the Urban Institute for the costs and benefits analysis.