In 2014, the State CJCC Problem-Solving Courts Subcommittee supported a BJA Adult Drug Court Discretionary statewide grant to develop and provide multiple statewide, regional trainings based on the Wisconsin Treatment Court Standards. Through this grant, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Wisconsin Association of Treatment Court Professionals (WATCP), and the Director of State Courts Office are collaborating to provide training on the Standards for treatment courts across the state. The training is intended for all fully-operational treatment court teams, through interactive training on the implementation of the standards, current research related to treatment courts, and the collection, reporting, and analysis of performance measure data.
The intent of this grant is to provide two rounds of annual, statewide trainings on the Standards. Throughout September and October of 2015, local teams from counties and tribes across Wisconsin completed the first round of these trainings designed to improve the functioning of their treatment court programs. The trainings were held in six regional sites around the state. 
The training received an overwhelming response from treatment court teams around the state, as over 500 attended, representing 71 out of 74 fully operational treatment courts in Wisconsin.
The trainings were coordinated by the DOJ, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Association of Treatment Court Professionals (link is external) (WATCP) and the Wisconsin Director of State Courts Office. The development of the Standards and the subsequent trainings represent unprecedented steps in the coordination and advancement of Wisconsin’s treatment courts and the implementation of evidence-based practices.
The development and delivery of the Wisconsin Treatment Court Standards Trainings reflected the true collaborative nature of the treatment court movement. The trainings were coordinated by the DOJ, working jointly with the WATCP and the Wisconsin Director of State Courts Office, with assistance from the Departments of Corrections and Health Services. In addition, a team of local treatment court subject matter experts were central to the project through the design of the curriculum and materials for the trainings. The six trainings also were delivered using this collaborative model, with teams of experts partnering to facilitate different sessions to the local treatment court teams.
Wisconsin Treatment Court Standards
In 2014, WATCP published the Wisconsin Treatment Court Standards (link is external) to help set the foundation for treatment courts across Wisconsin. The core of the 17 Standards is the Ten Key Components of Effective Drug Court Operations (link is external) and seven evidence-based principles (link is external) published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Additional research, evaluation and lessons learned from across the nation are incorporated into the Standards, as well as aspects of the NADCP Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards, Volume I (link is external). Each of the 17 Standards outlines key areas and practice points that provide operational guidance for treatment courts supported by research and evidence-based practices.
Training Materials
General
Presentations by Day
Day 3 - Perfomance Measures and Closing
Presentations by Treatment Court Standard
Standard 1 - Commitment to Evidence-Based Practices
Standard 2 - Equal Treatment of People
Standard 5 - Judicial Interaction
Standard 10 - Community Outreach
Standard 12 - Referral and Eligibility
Standard 13 - Screening and Assessment
Standard 15 - Monitoring with Drug Testing
Standard 17 - Applying Incentives and Sanctions
Next Steps
Additional statewide trainings are planned for early 2017. Additional information will be made available through the State CJCC website.
