2006 Sherry Lintz Award Winner Debbie Botch Debbie Botch was awarded the 2006 Sherry Lintz Drug Court Award of Excellence at the Buffalo Annual Conference. Debbie was recognized for her work as the Chief of Budget Operations for the Unified Court System before her retirement in January, 2006. Working behind the scenes, Debbie supported drug courts from the opening of the first in New York State, the Rochester City Drug Treatment Court, in 1995. At that time, drug courts were a hard fit for the court system’s operational bureaucracy, with many judges and administrators skeptical that drug treatment was the responsibility of the court. In this environment, Debbie helped find the resources necessary to provide matching funds required for all of our first drug court grants. Then, as grant funds and other outside resources became harder to find, Debbie created personnel lines within the court system for drug court staff, which laid the foundation for statewide institutionalization. In 1999, Debbie helped to create the financial model that became the centerpiece of the court system's budget proposal to the legislature. Upon its passage, New York became the first state to institutionalize drug treatment courts in its operations. As one of the first people in a leadership role in the NY justice system to recognize the potential of problem-solving courts, Debbie's efforts led to thousands of success stories in our drug court programs and the saving of countless lives. Although not part of her job, Debbie worked tirelessly to help make drug treatment courts in New York what they are today and ensure they became the way our court system deals with non-violent drug offenders. Debbie was also a true friend to the Association, supporting its founding and first conferences. She found the funds necessary to support the incorporation of this Association and authorized the payment of much of the Association's overhead, such as printing, postage and staff time. Debbie retired after nearly 30 years of service to the Unified Court System.