Pubdate: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 Source: Wichita Eagle (KS) Copyright: 2004 The Wichita Eagle Contact: http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/editorial/4664538.htm Website: http://www.wichitaeagle.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/680 Author: Phillip Brownlee, For the board SLOW GO It's been eight months since the state could begin mandating drug treatment rather than incarceration for nonviolent, small-possession drug offenders. So has treatment been effective? Unfortunately, officials don't know yet, and may not know for another year. When the new law went into effect last Nov. 1, lawmakers and corrections officials thought that the new guidelines could apply to any qualifying offender who hadn't been sentenced yet. So officials estimated that 1,429 offenders statewide would qualify for treatment between Nov. 1 and June 30, with 248 of those in Sedgwick County. But some judges and sentencing officials ended up concluding that only offenders who committed their crimes after July 1, 2003, were eligible. And because it can take at least nine months from crime to conviction, not many offenders have made it through the court system yet. As a result, only 35 offenders in Sedgwick County have qualified so far. And of those, 17 are still in the presentencing stage. Statewide, only 467 offenders have qualified, with 97 of those still in the assessment phase. That's not enough people in treatment for enough time to get a good test of the program's effectiveness. The idea still remains good in theory: Why fill up state prisons with low-level offenders at a cost of more than $20,000 per inmate per year, especially when drug treatment can be better rehabilitation? But how well it works in practice remains uncertain. Will treatment be effective if it is the court's idea and not the offender's? Will there be enough quality providers? We had hoped to have some answers by now, but will have to keep waiting. For the board, Phillip Brownlee - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D