Philly’s Drug Court: Positive Reinforcement is the Key

I was surprised to learn how lenient Philadelphia drug courts are. According to Matthew Schmonsees, positive reinforcement is the key to saving people’s lives. They focus on getting people help right away instead of locking them away and punishing them.

“A lot of research has shown that positive reinforcement works better than punishment,” said Schmonsees. People who don’t follow treatment do get sanctioned, but even the sanctions are positive and focus on helping the individual

People graduate every May from Philadelphia’s drug court. They celebrate with a graduation rate of 78 percent, according to Schmonsees. When a person graduates, the case that brought them to drug court will be expunged and they will be able to move on without a felony on their record.

Megan Milligan

Megan Milligan is a junior at Temple University, majoring in Journalism. A photographer, she loves traveling capturing everything along the way. She is from Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She was junior editor of the Delaware County Community College newspaper, The Communitarian. She has also contributed to both The Temple News and The Chestnut Hill Local. Contact Megan at [email protected].