The graduation is open to the public and is being held in conjunction with other celebrations nationwide celebrating National Drug Court Month in May.

Twenty-five men and women are expected to be among the graduates. The ceremony marks their completion of an intensive program of comprehensive substance abuse and other treatment, close supervision, and full accountability.

Master of Ceremonies for the graduation will be Kane County Drug Court Judge Marmarie Kostelny. The graduation will include a video by Drug Court graduates and will include some participants’ testimonials.

“The May 17 commencement ceremony is evidence of the tremendous impact the Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court has had on our community and will show how Drug Courts are a proven budget solution that save lives and money,” organizers said in a news release.

Like the other 2,600 operational Drug Courts in the United States, the Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court is a judicially-supervised court docket that reduces correctional costs, protects community safety, and improves public welfare.

In Drug Courts, seriously drug-addicted individuals remain in treatment while under close supervision. Drug Court participants must meet their obligation to themselves, their families, and society. To ensure accountability, they are regularly and randomly tested for drug use, required to appear frequently in court for the judge to review their progress, rewarded for doing well and sanctioned for not living up to their obligations.

Officials say research continues to show that drug courts work better than jail or prison and better than treatment alone and that drug courts are the most effective strategy at reducing recidivism among seriously drug-addicted, non-violent offenders with long criminal histories.

Nationally, 75 percent of individuals who complete drug court are not re-arrested. Drug courts save as much as $27 for every $1 invested, officials said.

SOURCE: Kane County Drug Court news release