Responsibility.org Judicial Advisory Board Member Inducted into the Treatment Court Hall of Fame
Every year at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) Training Conference, individuals who have left an indelible mark on the treatment court field are inducted into the Stanley Goldstein Hall of Fame. Named in honor of the nation’s first drug court judge, this year’s induction is particularly special as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the first treatment court. Responsibility.org is proud to announce that among this year’s inductees is a long-time friend, partner, and member of our Judicial Advisory Board – congratulations to Judge Michael Barrasse!
Judge Barrasse is a leader in the field who has tirelessly fought to expand the use of all treatment court models. Countless individuals in his home state of Pennsylvania have benefited from his compassion as he has been instrumental in expanding the reach of these life-saving courts. Based in Lackawanna County (Scranton), Judge Barrasse serves as the President Judge for the 45th Judicial District as well as the state judicial outreach liaison (JOL) for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. On the bench he oversees adult drug court, family dependency treatment court, DUI court, veterans treatment court, and a co-occurring disorders court. Under his years of leadership, these programs have served as a model for communities seeking to ensure that treatment courts are available for every justice-involved individual who needs help addressing substance use and mental health disorders.
In addition to his work in Pennsylvania, Judge Barrasse has also been responsible for sharing his experience and knowledge with practitioners across the country. He has served on the NADCP Board of Directors since 2011, where he has led both the DUI court and veterans treatment court committees. In 2017, he was unanimously chosen by the Board of Directors to serve as its Chairman. During his Board tenure, NADCP has significantly expanded training and resources for the treatment court field and Judge Barrasse has helped expand the model internationally, leading NADCP’s delegation to Vienna, Austria in 2019 to participate in the UN’s Conference on Narcotic Drugs.
A mentor and trailblazer within the traffic safety community, Judge Barrasse has always been eager to assist organizations that seek to reduce impaired driving recidivism and alcohol-impaired driving fatalities. He began serving on the Responsibility.org Judicial Advisory Board in 2016 where he has offered his judicial insight into approaches that could be employed to improve sentencing, supervision, and treatment including the strengthening of pre-trial services. With his considerable knowledge of co-occurring disorders, Judge Barrasse has been a strong advocate for the use of the Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS) and assisted our organization in the piloting of the instrument at the Lackawanna-Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs in the summer of 2016. He most recently participated in a Responsibility.org Judicial Hill Briefing on repeat impaired driver issues and served on a high-risk impaired driver expert panel. For his tremendous contributions to the field, he was awarded the Kevin E. Quinlan Award for Excellence in Traffic Safety in 2016.
Please join us in celebrating Judge Barrasse’s Hall of Fame induction and applauding his commitment to changing and saving lives!
