Senator Claire McCaskill, as District Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri,was a drug court pioneer who became NADCP’s first Chair of the Board. I met Claire when she was a rookie District Attorney in 1993. She had sent staff out to Oakland to watch the Drug Court in action. Six months later, I was pleased to be invited to speak in Kansas City, and a bit shocked to find an auditorium filled with what seemed like several hundred government employees and what seemed like almost as many media. Claire was completely in charge while being gracious to everyone. She asked me to talk to the Kansas media, including both radio and television. A first for me. I did what I was told. That was the beginning of a partnership that lasted five years, in founding NADCP and leading the drug court movement.
In this article Senator McCaskill states the case for reentry courts to improve prisoner reintegration into society.
