The Douglas County District Court Adult Drug Court is pleased to announce its 103^rd Commencement Ceremony for participants in the Adult Drug Court.  The ceremony is on Wednesday, December 12, 2018, at 2:00 P.M. in the Legislative Chamber (LC-4) of the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center, 1819 Farnam Street, Omaha, Nebraska.  Six participants will be recognized for their successful completion of the program’s stringent requirements, which include sustained abstinence from the use of controlled substances and alcohol; satisfactory participation in a substance-abuse treatment program; completion of educational and employment objectives established by the Adult Drug Court’s clinical staff; and frequent performance reviews conducted by the Adult Drug Court judges, District Judges Thomas A. Otepka, Gary B. Randall, Leigh Ann Retelsdorf and Gregory M. Schatz.  This ceremony will bring the total number of participants who have graduated from the Adult Drug Court program since its inception to 1983.

The Douglas County District Court Adult Drug Court was implemented in April of 1997 to divert non-violent, substance-abusing felony offenders into a comprehensive, judicially supervised program of substance-abuse treatment, urinalysis monitoring, and case management, to include referral and follow-up with employment, educational, and other self-improvement goals.  The legal staff of the Douglas County Attorney must review an offender’s application for admission to the Adult Drug Court, and one of the Adult Drug Court judges must then approve that application.  The offender is required to (1) acknowledge having a substance-abuse-related problem; (2) agree to fully participate in and complete substance-abuse treatment; (3) agree to satisfy all requirements of the Adult Drug Court, including completion of educational and employment objectives established by the Adult Drug Court’s clinical staff; and (4) enter a plea to the charged offense, with the imposition of sentence being suspended pending the offender’s successful completion of the Adult Drug Court program.

There are currently 116 participants active in the Adult Drug Court program.  In addition, no fewer than 132 drug-free babies have been born to drug-free mothers participating in Adult Drug Court.  The District Court Adult Drug Court has proven to be an innovative, cost-effective program to assist substance-abusing individuals in making life-changing differences for themselves, their families, and the community.  We are proud to be able to honor the Adult Drug Court graduates through this demonstration of achievement, and we welcome you to be a part of this celebration.

For further information on the Adult Drug Court program, please contact Adult Drug Court Coordinator Paul J. Yakel at (402) 599-2655 or at pyakel@dc4dc.com, or visit the District Court’s website at www.dc4dc.com.