Criminal justice clients are a significant percentage of clients who are currently taking part in alcohol and drug treatment programs in Kennedy and across the nation. Court systems in the U.S. are finding it more effective to rehabilitate individuals who have wound up in the criminal justice system for crimes relating to drugs, rather than penalizing them in vain with jail time and other such rulings. It is proven to be more effective to deal with the problem of drug or alcohol addiction directly, rather than enforce such penalties. The majority of who do not make their way to alcohol and drug rehab will often wind back up in the criminal justice system, while criminal justice clients in drug and alcohol rehabilitation often don't make the same mistakes and have a much better chance at staying abstinent and away from the court system for good.