Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 Source: Salisbury Post (NC) Copyright: 2004 Post Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.salisburypost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/380 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SALVAGING YOUNG LIVES In less than two years of operation, the Rowan County Juvenile Drug Treatment Court has proved that teen-agers with serious drug problems can turn their lives around, given a no-nonsense regimen of rules and rewards. But it requires heavy-duty intervention -- counseling, court monitoring and family involvement -- and it isn't easy for participants to meet the challenge. While the court celebrated its sixth successful graduate last week, others who started the program have struggled to stay straight and clean. It's much easier to tumble into addiction than to break free from it, a point made by graduate Michelle Foose last week when she talked about the horrible mess her life became when she began abusing marijuana and alcohol at age 15. Although there's no fool-proof inoculation against teen drug use, study upon study has pointed to parental involvement as the best anti-drug strategy. Parents who stay a part of their children's lives are most likely to be the strongest influence on their behavior. Yet, while that works for the majority of youngsters, others who develop addictions need help in turning their lives around -- which is where this pilot program comes in. Chief District Judge Charlie Brown oversees and has been an energetic advocate for the pilot project, which was initiated under former Chief District Court Judge Anna Mills Wagoner before her appointment as U.S. Attorney for North Carolina's Middle District. The program received a substantial boost last October, with a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department that will provide funding for three years, enabling it to hire a coordinator and expand the number of teens it serves. In addition to the money, the program also has benefitted from the cooperation of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, the Youth Services Bureau, the District Attorney's Office, Piedmont Behavioral Health Care, the Clerk of Court's office and others. It's an unpleasant fact of life that such a program is needed -- in Rowan County and every other county in North Carolina. You only need look back at last week's headlines -- with 49 students arrested on drug charges in an Alamance County undercover operation -- to get a sense of how much is at stake. While prevention is the most-effective strategy, the lives of many juveniles who go astray can still be rehabilitated. In its short existence, the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court has salvaged some of those lives and provided a model that should help establish similar programs elsewhere. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom