Specialty Court Resource Center

Specialty Courts
Specialty courts were established to facilitate intensive treatment, supervision, and support to identify the root causes of criminal behavior in a collaborative environment. These courts have evolved to several specialized areas within the criminal justice system.

Texas Specialty Courts
Texas Specialty Courts were implemented in 1990 and address specialized populations and offenses, such as:

• Adult Drug Court
• Juvenile Drug Court
• Veterans Treatment Court
• Mental Health Court (Co-Occurring Disorders Court)
• Family Drug Court
• Commercially Sexually Exploited Persons Court
• Public Safety Employees Treatment Court

These courts strive to divert criminal behavior and provide treatment and programming within the community at large, in and out of the criminal justice system.

The Criminal Justice Division of The Office of the Governor awarded the Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT) with a training and technical assistance grant to establish a Specialty Court Resource Center.

The goals of the Specialty Court Resource Center are to:

• Provide a one-stop shop for Specialty Courts in Texas to find the materials, resources, and assistance they need to be as effective as possible.
• Act as a referral clearinghouse for Specialty Court Programs in Texas to access needed assistance, such as program reviews or expert referrals.
• Support the Specialty Courts Advisory Council (SCAC) in identifying promising practices to be shared with programs and ultimately to identify best practices that can be recommended to the Texas Judicial Council.
• Help CJD and the SCAC identify gaps in the materials, resources, and assistance available to the programs.
• Support the SCAC and Specialty Court programs as they focus on court compliance with best practices adopted by the Texas Judicial Council

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