Borrin Foundation grant for Aotearoa drug courts conference

Researchers from the Auckland Law School have received a $60,000 Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation grant to host a conference about the Future Directions of the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AODT) Courts Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua, and therapeutic jurisprudence, in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Katherine Doolin and Dr Fleur Te Aho are organising the two-day conference, assisted by Judge Ema Aitken, Auckland AODT Court and Judge Lisa Tremewan, Waitakere AODT Court, to take place on 24 and 25 January 2019 at the University of Auckland.

The event will bring together local and international experts with policy makers, the judiciary, the legal profession, police, corrections, the health and recovery communities, AODT Courts’ graduates, iwi, students and academics for informed, robust, conversations about what is needed for the successful expansion of these innovative solutions-oriented Courts within Aotearoa New Zealand.

Two adult AODT Courts have been operating in Auckland and Waitākere since 2012. They are based on an extensively evaluated United States model, which has been enhanced to reflect our country and its people.

Following the initial pilot, the Minister of Justice the Hon. Andrew Little has stated his hope to roll out AODT Courts through Aotearoa New Zealand. Now is a critical time to reflect on the shape, scope and operation of these Courts.

Topics to be explored during the conference include:the origins and evidence base of the AODT Court model:

• the innovations of the AODT Courts in Aotearoa New Zealand, including the role of the Pou Oranga (the AODT Courts’ tikanga cultural adviser and recovery role model) and engagement of peer support ‘alongsiders’
• whether the current AODT Court model fulfils its therapeutic and restorative potential, including by appropriately responding to the specific needs of Māori, Pasifika, women, and families
• how the AODT Court model should be shaped going forward in order to remain robust and responsive to the communities it is designed to serve, including to better support the recovery and re-integration of participants who have completed the AODT Court programme.