Pubdate: Mon, 04 Dec 2000
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Copyright: 2000, The Des Moines Register.
Contact:  http://www.dmregister.com/
Author: William Petroski

DRUG COURT BENEFITS ADDICTS

A study finds that successful participants could look forward to sober
living.

Drug addicts who succeed in Polk County's drug court program are improving
their chances of staying out of prison and remaining clean and sober, a
state report shows.

A follow-up study of 124 drug court participants found that among those who
succeeded, 3.7 percent were convicted of new felony crimes. Those who failed
had a felony recidivism rate of 16.9 percent, while a group that didn't
participate in the program had a felony recidivism rate of 21.8 percent.

Polk County started Iowa's first drug court four years ago, offering
high-risk offenders a chance to avoid prison. The offenders, hooked on
methamphetamine, cocaine and other drugs, must complete a program of
treatment, drug tests and close supervision.

Similar programs operate in Council Bluffs and Sioux City, and one is being
established in Marshalltown. State corrections officials said they hope to
expand the concept statewide.

A preliminary evaluation of the Polk County program was presented Friday to
the Iowa Criminal and Juvenile Justice Advisory Planning Council. The 124
participants in the study entered the program between 1996 and September
1998, said Paul Stageberg, a state researcher.

About 44 percent of those in the study graduated from Polk County's drug
court; the graduation rate is now more than 50 percent. Most of those who
failed the program didn't meet program requirements or kept using drugs, the
study found.

While the rate of new felony crimes was low, many drug court graduates were
convicted of new misdemeanors, less serious crimes that usually don't result
in state prison terms. The misdemeanor recidivism rate for drug court
successes was 29.6 percent, compared to 32.4 percent for those who didn't
enter the program.

Overall, program participants received more drug treatment than comparable
groups studied, with an average cost of $5,149 per participant served.
However, a year after being referred for treatment, the treatment cost for
the participants was less than comparison groups.

Polk County District Judge Linda Reade, a state advisory council member who
has presided over the drug court, said: "It gives people who are serious
about changing their lives an opportunity to do so."
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