Technical assistance and education traditionally have been provided through the delivery of consultative services and education at the program site. This approach relies on expert consultants to gauge the local environment, detect its problems and shape appropriated solutions. However, it also tends to be costly, involving outside experts who often return to a program site for multiple visits.

While that approach may be appropriate for certain technical problems, it has far less success when applied to the development of a collaborative and coordinated system. When attempting to create a system that coordinates and integrates the functions of participating partners, the individuals themselves should be motivated through education and by example to provide their own initiative, commitment and energy.

The history of the drug court movement over the past ten years provides significant insight into how best to foster and assist in the development of new drug courts. Initially, drug courts developed at a number of sites across the country in response to the enormous demands that increasing drug and drug-related caseloads were making communities and their court systems. In almost every case, the focus, direction and resources were developed internally. In different communities, their genesis came from the criminal justice, treatment or anti-drug community.

Shortly after the first drug courts began, a grass-roots education and training movement began to emerge. Existing drug courts and their practitioners formed an adhoc consortium of teaching courts with Miami, Portland, Oakland, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Chicago taking the lead. Existing drug court sites hosted hundreds of visits to their programs. They planned, implemented and presented services and workshops form coast to coast. In addition to providing extensive materials, including evaluations, program descriptions, manuals and training videos.

Almost all of this pro bono assistance was provided by local agencies with little or no federal assistance. These agencies comprised a loosely organized confederation of drug court professionals that became the foundation of NADCP.