Denton County's felony drug treatment court has more people trying to get in than it can take, and its judges want federal money to make room.
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Commissioners Court will consider letting the court apply for a Bureau of Justice Assistance adult treatment court grant, a four-year award totaling $1,002,474. The request comes from Judges Brody Shanklin of the 211th District Court and Lee Ann Breading of the 462nd District Court.
What the money would buy
According to the judges' memo, the grant would pay for inpatient residential treatment, an outside evaluator to check how data is gathered and how treatment is delivered, and training and travel. The county budget office lists yearly amounts of about $250,000, rising from $249,900 in the first year to $251,351 in the fourth, and says no county match is required.
No new positions would be funded.
A program at capacity
The application narrative says the court is full, with 60 people enrolled, and keeps a waitlist of about 10 people, with an average wait of three and a half weeks between acceptance and entry. It graduates about 14 people a year and removes four to six through revocations.
The county hopes to add about 10 participants a year with the grant, reaching 90 when the grant ends, an 80% increase, according to the narrative. It says the program can now pay for only eight people in residential treatment and five in its accountability program.
The narrative cites figures from the district attorney's office showing 1,676 felony drug cases filed in 2025, mostly possession charges, and 2,420 people on felony probation for drug-related offenses as of December 2025. It also notes that commissioners have authorized a second program docket, adding another judge.
