New York Daily News: New bail reform laws likely to change the face of Bronx ‘Opioid Court’

“The Bronx HOPE program is currently reserved for people charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh-degree. Avery McNeil, the alternatives to incarceration specialist at the Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit legal organization, would like to see HOPE expand so that the program reaches more people.

“More of our clients being issues DATs is a good thing…Keeping people away from the courthouse and into treatment quicker is what we want,” she said of the statewide reforms. “But the scope of OAR is broader than the scope of HOPE right now … and that’s something I’m hoping the DAs office will change.”

Read the full article here