Victoria Shakelford (at podium), chief judge of the 23rd District Court in Taylor, addresses the City Council Dec. 2 about the Hybrid DWI/Drug Court.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR – Following a Dec. 2 presentation by 23rd District Court Chief Judge Victoria Shakelford, the City Council authorized the continuation of the Hybrid DWI/Drug Court.
The council did so by authorizing the mayor to sign the fiscal year 2026 grant contract between the Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office and the 23rd District Court.
Shakelford said 19th District Court Judge Sam Salamey started a regional treatment court program about 20 years ago, and she took over the program in 2021 when she became a judge.
“The program offers court supervised treatment for people with substance use disorders,” she said. “It is one of the most successful treatment courts in the state of Michigan, it is a hybrid regional treatment court, so we take anyone from substance use disorders ranging from alcohol to fentanyl, and we offer them treatment, and this grant that we receive is from the state of Michigan for our state certified program, which we recertified in 2024.”
Shakelford said the program offers a variety of wrap-around services, and that some people who come into the program after years of substance use have unstable housing, lack of transportation, have neglected their medical circumstances and child care, and have many issues that accompany long-term substance use.
She said that aside from offering court supervised treatment they also use grant funds to help with some of the costs of the program, as well as assist participants with other barriers to recovery.
Shakelford said the Michigan Supreme Court does a comparison match every year, and it compares people who have graduated from the drug treatment court program with similarly situated people who have not gone to a treatment court program, and those individuals have a recidivism rate within a three-year period that is about 24 to 26 percent, while the graduates from their treatment court program have a recidivism rate much lower, which she said makes it “an incredibly successful program.”
She said she has 54 people in the program right now, since she is the only 23rd District Court judge. She said she would like to see the program help more people.
Shakelford said some of their program participants face housing insecurity, so funding is always an issue because the need is so great.
“So, there’s always a need for more money, but we learn to work with what we have and use it as most efficiently as possible,” she said.
Shakelford said participants range in age from 18 to their late 70s. If they meet the initial program requirements then they can be involved in the 24-month program.