Pubdate: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA) Copyright: 2004 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 Author: Kelli Esters, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) COUNCIL ASSISTS DRUG COURT City to Seek Federal Grant to Pay Staff Another Year Columbus Council Tuesday morning authorized the city to pursue a federal grant to help the cash-strapped Juvenile Drug Court operate for another year. The court diverts non-violent juvenile offenders with drug problems from Juvenile Court into the treatment-based program where their criminal records can be cleared. Drug Court helps halt repetitive juvenile delinquency by dealing with the personal problems and drug use that lead to such behavior before it becomes habit. Without this additional funding, the court would have to close its doors at the end of August. The grant, from the Department of Justice, is worth $133,000. City Manager Carmen Cavezza said the city will have to put up $33,000, of matching funds, which would come from the city's contingency fund. About $125,000 of the grant would be used to pay the court's five employees, said Carol Scherer, director of Juvenile Drug Court. The court employs a part-time director and two part-time secretaries without benefits as well as two full-time case managers with insurance coverage. Currently the funds for the salaries are being provided through a federal grant that ends in August. The extra money from the grant would help with the day-to-day operations. The city already supplies the program's office space and office supplies, Scherer said. Treatment for those in the program is funded through three additional federal grants, Medicaid and community support. "Right now we are operating on one grant after another," Scherer said. The court will learn the first week in June if it will receive the grant. The grant money would be for July 1 through June 30, 2005, but that money is not guaranteed to be there after that. "We are going to be in the same place next year," Scherer said. She said she hopes local and state funds will become available when the economy improves. Mayor Bob Poydasheff said that he supported seeking the grant and called the court an "important service." But Poydasheff warned, "If the funds do not come in, in the future, the city will not pick up the slack." Through the end of 2003, the court successfully graduated 62 children. Another 46 were active in the program, and 32 participants either had dropped out of the program or were sent back to traditional Juvenile Court for failing to comply with Drug Court requirements. After two and a half years, Scherer said the program is running near capacity with 68 children active today and a goal of 30 to 45 graduates annually. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager