Only two people have successfully completed the Kensington ‘wellness court’ so far. The Parker administration wants to expand it.

In the nearly three months since the city launched its Neighborhood Wellness Court — the new fast-track court program for people in addiction arrested in Kensington — only two people have successfully completed drug treatment.

Nearly two-thirds of the more than 40 people brought before the court since late January dropped out of treatment within days, then failed to appear at follow-up hearings, according to an Inquirer review of the cases.

But Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration says those numbers do not define the program’s success, and it has asked City Council to approve about $3.7 million in additional funding to expand it.

The additional money, officials said, would allow the court to operate five days per week, instead of one, and hire seven new staff members to oversee it.

Parker and her team have touted the court as a key part of their goal to shut down the open-air drug market in Kensington and restore a neighborhood that, for years, has been overrun with public drug use, drug dealing, and homelessness.

But the data out of the early, pilot phase of the court have raised questions about its effectiveness and, for some, underscored the challenges of trying to force people in addiction, many with complex physical and mental health issues, into treatment before they might be ready.

“It raises red flags about consent, red flags about effectiveness, certainly about expense,” Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke said during a budget hearing this week. “Frankly, it’s hard to reconcile.”

During the hearing, Adam Geer, head of the Philadelphia Office of Public Safety, which oversees wellness court, declined to share data on the program with Council. He would not say how many people have successfully completed treatment or how many dropped out, emphasizing that it is too early to judge the program by numbers alone.

In an interview Wednesday, he said his team needs to meet with the court to review the data and determine which cases could be considered successfully completed.

As of this week, police had arrested about 70 people during the Wednesday morning sweeps for wellness court. Not everyone picked up makes it to court — some have outstanding bench warrants and are transferred to jail, while others are taken to a hospital.

Still, Geer said, he did not want to share data on the court until it reaches the six-month mark.

O’Rourke, of the progressive Working Families Party, said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency and called it disrespectful to the budget process.

“You’re asking for money now, not later,” he said. “There are questions members have, and we are expecting answers now.”

Wellness court, which launched in January, is designed to connect people in addiction with same-day treatment and resources. Every Wednesday morning, police walk through Kensington in search of people who appear to be in addiction, stumbling into the street or sleeping on the sidewalk, and arrest them. They are typically charged with public drunkenness or obstructing a highway, which are summary offenses.

Previously, police only could issue written citations, akin to a traffic ticket, for these crimes. But Parker signed an order in January allowing officers to take people into custody.

People are first brought to a resource center at B Street and Lehigh Avenue, where they are evaluated by a nurse and an addiction specialist. Attorneys from the Defender Association of Philadelphia work to clear any outstanding warrants that would typically send them to jail. Then, they are connected with a city-contracted attorney to represent them in court.

Finally, they are brought before a judge inside the nearby police district. They are offered the opportunity to immediately go to rehab or face a summary trial for their crime. If they opt to go into treatment, and complete the program, their cases are dismissed and expunged.

Few have asked for a same-day trial. Those found guilty have so far been ordered to pay fines and court fees ranging from about $200 to $500.

Most people have opted to go into treatment, which includes their choice of intensive, inpatient rehab, or outpatient services. But very few have made it through, the data show. Many drop out within just a few days. One man fled before he was even met by an intake worker at the facility.

Only two have successfully completed the terms of their treatment, and both are now being housed at Riverview, the new transitional housing complex built by Parker’s team on State Road, said Christian Colon, their defense attorney contracted by the city.

On Wednesday, one of those successful cases, a 43-year-old mother of three, stood before the court, smiling. Two months ago, she said, she was homeless and addicted to opioids in Kensington. Now, she said, she was nearly 60 days sober, had a place to live, and was rekindling her relationship with her sons.

“I really want it this time,” she said of staying sober.

Her resolve and perseverance were rare for wellness court, where most people do not return. Many brought before the court are chronically homeless. Some appear to nod off, and are shaking and sweating during their proceedings.

Geer said it is unrealistic to believe that everyone in the court will successfully complete treatment. Every contact officials have with people in addiction matters, he said, and increases their likelihood of entering treatment.

“The notion that neighborhood wellness court is going to sweep in and take in people in the worst throes of addiction, and they’ll get this one hit and be successful and go straight to Riverview, that’s not realistic,” he said. “It’s not pragmatic or what we would expect from any other system.”

At Tuesday’s Council hearing, Geer said the city’s existing diversion programs are more likely to send people to jail. Police, he said, will continue to enforce laws and make arrests in the neighborhood.

Without wellness court, he said, those who are arrested are more likely to be charged with misdemeanors, and “go to a cold cell” inside the local police station “that does not have a nurse, that does not have a housing specialist … that does not have a behavioral health specialist. It doesn’t have any of that. They just go to the cell.”

That, O’Rourke said, was troubling.

“I was disturbed by the idea that, as the head of public safety, that if we don’t just give you money, while you’re not answering our questions, you’re just going to lock everybody up.”

He added: “That is not the sort of representation that we need to be having coming out of our city if we are serious about providing care.”

Parker has asked Council to approve $2.7 million for the court operations, and $2.8 million for the B and Lehigh resource center to run 24/7, plus $1 million for the Defender Association to provide full-time support.

In total, the administration is asking Council to allocate $78.9 million for Geer’s office, which was established last year as a way to centralize the city’s myriad public safety programs outside traditional policing.

It’s just a sliver of what the administration is requesting in its efforts to stabilize Kensington. Parker has asked Council to approve $300 million over five years to support construction and operations at the city-run drug addiction recovery house in Northeast Philadelphia.

O’Rourke said he and his colleagues want to see the efforts succeed.

“The idea is not to see the administration fail,” he said. “We know it’s part of a concerted effort, a symphony of force and care and provision they’re putting together to address the disease of addiction.”

But, he said, they deserve answers to their questions.

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.