Kuster Announces $324K Grant for Hillsborough County Drug Court

Last week, U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, announced that Hillsborough County will receive a $324,960 federal grant to support an alternative drug court for felony-level offenders.

The grant, administered through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant program, will help finance the diversion court, which enters non-violent, high-risk drug offenders into a court-supervised treatment program rather than traditional prison time. The program was launched last year in Hillsborough County Superior Court South in Nashua, and the grant will help fund the program for the next three years.

“Instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach, the Hillsborough County Drug Court focuses more on treatment and rehabilitation than on punishment,” Kuster said. “The goal is to help more drug offenders treat their addiction, and this funding will help keep more people out of prison and in their homes. This model has worked well in drug courts around the country, and it’s wonderful that this great program will be able to continue in Nashua.”

The drug court program, similar to others adopted in Cheshire, Grafton, Rockingham and Strafford Counties, among others around the state, consists of substance abuse treatments, weekly court visits, community service and random drug testing, among other requirements. The grant will cover the costs of substance abuse treatment and testing services, among others.

“I firmly believe that we cannot arrest and incarcerate our way out of the current drug, and resulting crime epidemic,” said Justice Jacalyn Colburn, who oversees the program for Hillsborough County Superior Court. “We know we won’t have 100 percent success, but well-run drug courts have proven to reduce recidivism by 40 percent over traditional methods. That is good for community safety and good for the participants we serve. Getting this grant will take us one step closer to achieving those goals.”

Since taking office, Congresswoman Kuster has been a strong supporter of drug, mental health and other diversion courts around the Second Congressional District. Earlier this year, she spoke at the commencement ceremony for the Grafton County Drug Court in North Haverhill, and this spring she wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice in support of the Hillsborough County grant application.

Adult Drug Court Discretionary grants are awarded by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. Additional information on the program is available here.

Submitted text. Courtesy photo.