COOK COUNTY currently operates three programs funded by ARI: Access to Community Treatment (ACT) Court, Women’s / Rehabilitation Alternative Probation “(W)RAP” Court, and the Recidivism Reduction Program (RRP). Cook County first began receiving ARI funding in October 2013 to implement its ACT Court and began receiving additional ARI funding in October 2018 to support RRP and (W)RAP Court.
Cook County ACT Court serves individuals arrested for non-violent felony offenses who are at high risk of reoffending, have a high need for treatment, and are facing a prison sentence. The ACT Court provides participants with enhanced supervision; access to substance-use disorder and mental health treatment; individualized case management; incentives and sanctions; transportation assistance; and connections to community-based housing, employment, and educational opportunities. The ACT Court is intentional in utilizing the expansion of Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act by enrolling individuals who are eligible to fund reimbursable services. Participants who complete all four phases of the ACT Court program are eligible to have their underlying felony case dismissed.
Cook County RRP focuses on individuals with probation-eligible charges who are assessed at higher risk levels but lower need levels, and therefore face limited opportunities to receive community-based services. This program is based on the understanding that without access to evidence-based programming, outcomes for individuals who are justice-involved and assessed as high-risk are generally poor. Cook County RRP provides participants with cognitive-behavioral interventions, access to community-based mental health treatment, and connection to employment services and public benefits.
Cook County (W)RAP Court focuses on serving individuals who have severe substance use disorders, are assessed at higher risk levels, need treatment and services, and otherwise face a prison sentence. Cook County (W)RAP Court uses an evidence-based adult drug court model that combines judicial supervision; mandatory drug testing; graduated incentives, sanctions, and therapeutic adjustments; and comprehensive behavioral health treatment to help participants with substance use disorders break the cycle of addiction. Participants in (W)RAP Court receive access to aftercare and relapse prevention services; self-help groups and recovery management programming; peer support and mentoring; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT); and gender-specific programming on women’s health, motherhood, parenting, and trauma-related abuse. Cook County (W)RAP is responsive to social determinants of health by providing participants transportation assistance; connections to employment, vocational training, and housing services; and assistance furnishing new, safe, and stable apartments (in partnership with the Chicago Furniture Bank).
The Cook County ARI programs are a partnership between the Cook County Circuit Court, the Problem-Solving Courts Coordinator and Case Managers, the Cook County Adult Probation Department, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, local law enforcement, community-based treatment providers, peer mentors, and other local partners.
Program contact:
Kelly Gallivan-Ilarraza, Director of Problem-Solving Courts, Cook County