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| Drug Court making an impact here |
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6/26/2015
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
The guest speaker at a recent Drug Court graduation discussed overcoming a world of alcohol and crack cocaine that had left his life in shambles.
He lost a wife, a home and numerous jobs, some of which involved theft from his employers that landed him in court.
Through Drug Court, the speaker has been clean and sober for six years now. He credits Drug Court for saving his life and giving him renewed hope about the future.
Six individuals recently participated in the graduation, four from Montgomery County.
Circuit Judge Beth Maze, who administers Drug Court in 21st Judicial District counties (Montgomery, Bath, Rowan and Menifee), said there are plenty of success stories to show the program is working.
“We have had a lot of success with our Montgomery County Drug Court,” Maze said. “I’m really proud of the people who have succeeded.”
District Judge William “Willie” Roberts, who has placed several people in the program, has been equally pleased.
“Everything I’ve seen of it, the people I’ve placed in it it works,” Roberts said. “It works more often than not. From my perspective it’s a great asset and a tool.”
Drug Court is a court-supervised program that combines drug abuse treatment with the legal weight of law enforcement to help drug offenders rehabilitate. It is designed to be completed in a minimum of 18 months for felony participants and 15 months for misdemeanor participants.
A Drug Court Board reviews placements into the program.
Roberts said he looks at a defendant’s likelihood of success, what’s been tried with them before, the type of crime committed and plans for success after Drug Court when considering people for the program.
No one with a history of violent crime is considered.
Once a participant has successfully completed the program, the judge may conditionally discharge the remainder of the probationary period (in the case of a probation-referred participant) or dismiss the charges (in the case of diversion).
Participants in the drug program must complete three phases to graduate.
In phase 1, which usually takes four to eight weeks to complete, a participant must attend one court session every week, take a minimum of two drug screens, three treatment sessions and make one contact with staff per week, enroll in a self-help program, such as NA/AA, demonstrate initial understanding of substance abuse treatment, obtain employment, training or education and remain drug-free for at least 30 consecutive days.
As part of phase 2, which takes eight to 12 months to complete, the participant must attend one court session, a minimum of two drug screens, make at least one contact with staff per week and attend self-help programs each week, demonstrate understanding of recovery principles, maintain employment or education and remain drug-free for least 90 consecutive days.
In phase 3, which takes three to five months to complete, participants must attend one court session every three weeks, take a minimum of one drug screen per week, attend one treatment session per week, make a minimum of one contact with staff per week, attend self-help programs on a weekly basis, demonstrate understanding of recovery lifestyle, maintain employment or education and remain drug-free for at least 90 consecutive days.
Statistics provided to the Advocate by the Administrative Office of the Courts lay out the impact of Drug Court in Montgomery County.
Since the launching of the program in January 2008 through June 15 of this year, the program has had 97 participants (20 currently), 24 who have successfully completed the program, 11 drug-free babies born to participants, 39 terminated from the program, 12,188 community service hours performed, $45,868 in child support paid by participants, four who’ve gotten their GEDs, 18 who got a job promotion and three who were reunified with their children, according to the AOC.
Statewide, from inception of the program through the end of 2014, the program had generated $4,987,988 in child support paid and $5,358,204 in court obligation paid, AOC stats show.
Of the 20,059 to enter the program, 6,889 have graduated, the AOC reports. Judges terminated 9,035 from the program and administratively discharged 858.
The number of those on diversion totaled 7,115, 18,989 on probation and 21 on deferred prosecution, according to the AOC.
Participants completed 1,444,294 community service hours. Participants who are not actively working must complete community service hours. Hours spent pursuing a GED count, Maze said.
“For the most part they’re all working and paying back on their fines and court costs,” she said. “They can’t graduate until they get everything paid.”
Maze said there is also an emphasis on getting restitution and child support paid.
More importantly, the program is producing more drug-free babies without the life-long problems that can manifest through the years, Maze said.
Instead, the children grow up in a more stable environment with a chance to be productive citizens, she said.
According to the University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, the recidivism rate two years after completing the program is 20 percent compared to a rate of 57.3 percent for non-participants.
The UK Center reports that Drug Court graduates saved the state more than $92 million in prison costs since inception of the program.
Drug Court participants receive treatment, drug testing and case management for $6,069 per year versus $20,047 to house an inmate per year, according to the Center.
The Center says that for every dollar spent on Drug Court, the state saves an average of $4.14. These savings come from reduced costs related to crime victims, re-arrest and reconviction and increased employment rates and child support payments.
The AOC reports that Drug Court graduates had higher employment rates and earned significantly more ($12,937) from
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