05/15/2026
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 15, 2026
2026 ADULT DRUG TREATMENT COURT GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD A CELEBRATION OF RECOVERY
Frederick, MD - The Frederick County Drug Treatment Court (DTC) celebrated 20 successful graduates yesterday in the Circuit Court for Frederick County. DTC is a specialized court for non-violent offenders who struggle with addiction. Participants enter guilty pleas and their sentencings are postponed for an intensive supervisory program lasting a minimum of sixteen months. Upon graduation, participants are placed on an additional period of supervised probation. Participants pass through phases as they progress, attending substance use treatment, mental health treatment, and self-help meetings, perform community service, engage in work force training, further their education, and seek employment.
DTC meets in the courtroom every week where the presiding judge, the Honorable Julia Martz Fisher, along with the DTC staff, including representatives of the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Public Defender, Parole and Probation, the Frederick Police Department, and treatment providers review participants’ progress since the last court session. The Court holds a graduation ceremony periodically to celebrate those individuals who have successfully completed the program.
Since DTC began in 2005, the program has graduated 254 participants. The DTC Coordinator, Paul Wolford, noted the following: “Yesterday’s graduates proved to be exceptional. Two are working full-time for substance use disorder treatment providers in the county. One was hired by the Frederick County Government. Three of them completed the Peer Recovery Academy program and are in the process of certification. Most are working full-time. But most importantly, this group grasps the understanding that sobriety was not the ultimate goal-recovery was. And recovery is a lifelong journey.”
Graduates, family members, friends, staff members, and community partners gathered for the ceremony. The Honorable Judge Julia Martz Fisher addressed every graduate individually, congratulating them on each one’s particular triumphs, “As I often say, you all fill my cup! What a special group of people.”
The Phoenix Award was presented to Jennifer Booth Tomalewski, CAC-AD, employed by the New Horizons at Mountain Manor treatment program in Emmitsburg. Ms. Tomalewski is a successful DTC graduate, who has built a career over the last decade helping others as a certified addictions counselor. The Phoenix award recognizes a former participant who has risen from the ashes to achieve great things. Mickey Stenger, DTC Case Manager, thanked Ms. Tomalewski for her tireless dedication to helping others, and remarked that she and others like her remind the DTC staff why they choose to do this work everyday.
State’s Attorney Charlie Smith noted, “The ongoing success of this program is a testament to the value of problem-solving court models. These programs reduce the jail and prison populations for non-violent substance using offenders, and the attendant burden on tax- payers of warehousing folks that can be successful in the community with the extensive supervision these programs offer. The results speak for themselves – drastically reduced recidivism rates means reduced future crime. In our mission to protect the community, sometimes the best thing we can do is give people an opportunity through this program to do the hard work to change their lives – to rebuild and become valuable community members. To recover.”
Press Contact:
Jacqueline Rottmann
Media Relations Officer
301-600-2972
100 West Patrick Street
Frederick, Maryland 21701
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