23-05-2025
‘They saved my life when I was a participant': How Treatment Court offers an alternative option for those with substance use disorder
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Treatment Court is designed for people who have been assessed and deemed to have a substance use disorder that is the root cause of why they're committing or charged with crimes.
'It's another tool that we have to make sure we're not incarcerating those who don't necessarily need to be incarcerated simply because they have a substance use disorder,' James Cecile, the Presiding Judge of Syracuse Treatment Court, explained.
The people who utilize Treatment Court are typically those who have committed non-violent felonies or misdemeanors. Once they consent to doing Treatment Court, the staff will come up with a plan of action in terms of the individual's treatment, and they will go through various phases.
A lot of times, the treatment plan starts with the participant going directly to an inpatient facility. Once they finish at the inpatient facility — typically for a 28-day stay — they will need residential housing. Treatment Court will arrange for them to go to a residential facility, like a half-way house or some type of supported living facility, for four to six months while they do outpatient treatment.
'We not only work on what their substance use disorder is, but a lot of times we have to work on housing for them, we work on making sure they have a place to go for community service, and make sure they're getting transportation where they need to get to for treatment and we also make sure we give them job suggestions for job searches,' Judge Cecile explained.
To be able to graduate Treatment Court, participants must have completed all their treatment, be in school full time or working full time, and complete 50 hours of community service. Once they graduate, a participant's charges could be dismissed or substantially reduced, and if they're on probation, they're discharged from probation.
'They need to know that there is an alternative to just incarceration or taking your case to trial or just doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result,' Judge Cecile said.
For participants with misdemeanors, their Treatment Court journey typically takes about one year. For the participants with felonies, it usually takes a year and a half.
Judge Cecile said there are approximately 130 people in Treatment Court right now, the number has been lower ever since the pandemic.
About six out of ten people who enter drug court will graduate.
One of those people is Aaron Deluca, who graduated from Treatment Court five years ago. Now, it's a full circle moment where he works as a Peer Specialist for those going through the program.
'I think one of the biggest parts of me being part of this is them seeing somebody who was once a participant and made it out to the other side and became successful at recovery, and let them know that they can do it too,' Deluca shared.
As a Peer Specialist, Deluca provides one-on-one support, sets up participants with community resources, and meets them at self-help meetings.
For him, the best part is watching the people he has helped graduate.
'Treatment… we save lives, they saved my life when I was a participant,' Deluca said. 'I always say a lot of people they don't get arrested, they get rescued, they're getting rescued by coming to court because a lot of them probably wouldn't make it if there wasn't some kind of intervention.'
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