October 02, 2025

Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp Proclaims September 15-19, 2025 “Council of Accountability Court Judges Week” in Georgia

Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp Proclaims September 15-19, 2025 “Council of Accountability Court Judges Week” in Georgia 

Athens, GA – In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Council of Accountability Court Judges (CACJ), Governor Brian P. Kemp issued a proclamation announcing September 15-19, 2025 as “Council of Accountability Court Judges Week” in Georgia. 

Signed by Governor Kemp on July 21, 2025, the proclamation was presented by the Honorable Thomas L. Cole, presiding judge of the Chatham County Anchor Court and CACJ’s Executive Committee Chair, to Ms. Taylor Jones, CACJ’s Executive Director, at the CACJ Annual Training Conference on September 15, 2025 in Athens. 

The proclamation stated:

THE FIRST ACCOUNTABILITY COURT IN GEORGIA WAS CREATED IN 1994 AND IN 2015, IT WAS DECIDED THERE NEEDED TO BE A UNIFIED FRAMEWORK THAT PROMOTES AND IMPROVES THE QUALITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTABILITY COURTS. 

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges was created as part of the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians in 2015 and charged with furthering the development of Georgia’s accountability courts; and

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges continue to take Georgia’s accountability courts to scale by assisting with the implementation and sustainability of court programs throughout the state; and 

WHEREAS: There are now 192 accountability courts statewide; and  

 WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges continues to reduce incarceration rates and support accountability courts in significantly improving substance use disorder and mental health treatment outcomes, substantially reducing addiction and related crime, and are doing so at less expense than any other criminal justice strategy; and 

WHEREAS: Accountability courts save an average of $19,664 for every individual they serve according to Georgia-specific diversion savings; and 

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges continues to determine funding priorities by providing state funding through a competitive grant process to certified accountability courts; and 

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges has awarded $262.2 million to accountability courts in 10 years through operating grants, enhancement and innovation grants, emergency grants, technology grants, and law enforcement grants; and

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges continues to develop state standards based on nationally recognized, research-based best practices and to ensure that local, county-operated court programs are working in accordance with state standards to operate in a manner that will effectively reduce recidivism while protecting public safety and reducing the costs associated with prison beds; and 

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges continues to save lives and restore families and since 2015, accountability courts recognized 11,518 graduates, 1,277 reunified families, and 5,834 drug-free babies born with nearly 66% percent of graduates employed at the time of graduation, which contributes greatly to the economic impact to Georgia, as well as the participants’ recovery; and 

WHEREAS: Georgia accountability courts have served more than 45,000 individuals statewide over the past 10 years; and 

WHEREAS: With consideration of economic benefits to the State, averaged to be $25,921 per adult participant, accountability courts result in healthcare savings of roughly $289 million to Georgians over the past 10 years;

WHEREAS: According to the Council of Accountability Court Judges, accountability courts are the most successful justice system intervention in our state’s history for reducing crime by addressing substance use and mental health disorders; and 

WHEREAS: Accountability courts provide a range of economic benefits to a community, such as reduced costs in court and prison expenditures, increased tax revenues, lowered foster care expenses, and decreased costs related to victimization; and 

 WHEREAS: Accountability courts combine accountability with evidence-based treatment; and  

WHEREAS: Accountability courts facilitate community-wide partnerships, bringing together public safety and public health; and  

WHEREAS: The Council of Accountability Court Judges have been making accountability courts work for all Georgians for 10 years; and 

 THEREFORE: I, Brian Kemp, Governor of the State of Georgia, do hereby proclaim September 15-19, 2025 as THE COUNCIL OF ACCOUNTABILITY COURT JUDGES WEEK in Georgia.

Also presented at the conference was the CACJ Anniversary Publication which relayed the history of the CACJ, along with an accountability court graduate’s testimony, important data detailing the success of Georgia’s accountability court programs, quotes from accountability court professionals, and 10 years of CACJ accomplishments. The Anniversary Publication can be found here. 

The mission of the CACJ is to provide a unified framework that promotes and improves the quality, accessibility, and administration of accountability courts with a vision to make accountability courts work for all Georgians. Established in 2015, the CACJ fulfills this mission through certification, standards, peer review, data collection, training, treatment fidelity monitoring, and grants. 

The centerpiece of CACJ’s training offerings, CACJ hosted its first annual conference in 2016. Each year, the conference agenda becomes more robust, and the number of attendees increases. From that first conference in Athens where 910 attendees gathered to hear local and national experts speak on topics such as drug testing trends and evidence-based treatment, the conference continues to grow each year, becoming one of the largest treatment court events in the country. This year, CACJ welcomed more than 1,400 attendees, and the conference included a 10th anniversary celebration featuring a fireside chat with Former Governor Nathan Deal and the inaugural Executive Committee members.

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