Pubdate: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 Source: Midweek, The (IL) Copyright: 2006 The MidWeek Contact: http://www.midweeknews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3747 Author: Diane Strand Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) DRUG COURT CONCEPT HAS GROWN SINCE 1996 Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories on drug courts and DeKalb County's efforts to establish one here. The concept of the drug court is relatively new. It represents a cooperative relationship between judges, law and probation officers, therapists, prosecutors and public defenders. One goal is to help individuals whose lives have been distorted and sidetracked by drug and alcohol use -- and to end the crimes they commit to feed their addictions. According to one proponent, "When it works, it turns people's lives around." A more pragmatic goal of drug courts is to relieve pressure on -- and cost to taxpayers of -- crowded jails and prisons, where offenders are sentenced and often discharged, in unchanged or worse condition. The DeKalb County Jail is crowded to the point that prisoners routinely have to be boarded, at a high cost, to jails in surrounding counties where space may be available. The crowding in DeKalb County Jail is partly a function of the county's rapid population growth, as well as a policy of mandatory incarceration for repeat offenses. A 2003 referendum to expand the jail was narrowly rejected by voters but there likely will be another attempt in the fall. There is clearly a need for a drug court here. Coordinator Marilyn Stromborg recently reported, "In 2005, DeKalb County had 224 drug-related cases that reached disposition." Drug courts in New Jersey started in 1996, in Camden and Essex Superior Courts. In 1999, the Conference of Criminal Presiding Judges declared drug courts "best practice" in the criminal division. New Jersey gathered some interesting data from its experience: * As of 2003, more than 120 participants had "graduated" from drug court and were discharged from the probationary system. * About 350 individuals had "celebrated their commencement" but remained under probationary supervision until they were eligible to leave the program. * Approximately 32 percent of individuals enrolled in the program were terminated for non-compliance and were sentenced. * As of 2003, the cumulative rate of retention in the program since 1996 was an impressive 64 percent. About two-thirds of participants stuck with the program. * Thirty-one drug-free babies were born to previously addicted female participants. About the same time, the U.S. Office of Justice Programs found that 50-60 percent of drug court graduates stop using drugs. And a National Institute of Justice evaluation of the first drug court in Miami showed a 33 percent reduction in rearrests for such graduates. In 2004, Todd Schroeder, Drug Court coordinator for Winnebago County, provided some impressive numbers. That program has been in operation since 1996. "Of 213 graduates, only 16 (7.5 percent) have been convicted of a new felony since their graduation from drug court. Twenty-eight graduates (13 percent) have been convicted of a misdemeanor." In 2004, Schroeder also cited statistics from a report, "Recidivism Rates for Drug Court Graduates: National Based Estimates," prepared by the National Institute of Justice. "In a study of 17,000 drug court graduates nationwide, recidivism (repeat crimes) one year after graduation were a mere 16.5 percent and, after two years, 27.5 percent. "That same report identified 60-80 percent recidivism rates for those defendants who do not participate in a drug court program," Schroeder said. A drug court's monitoring of a substance abuser is intense--he or she must face the judge every week, a probation officer even more frequently, and must turn in regular urine "drops." Besides judicial supervision, the individual undergoes treatment, escalating sanctions, and crisis intervention to help him or her break the cycle of addiction and crime. The individual also must attend some kind of 12-step program as well as continuing education or job training. A program can continue for as long as two years, though Stromborg estimates 12-18 months. "The individual must remain clean and sober," said Steve Slack, a DeKalb County Board member and major proponent of the program. "There's a built-in incentive to stay in the program -- knowing the judge has deferred their sentence." Judge Robbin Stuckert will officiate in the DeKalb County drug court, which is expected to meet once a week. Other members of the task force have included Slack, Ron Matekaitis, state's attorney; Ken Johnson, public defender; Margi Gilmore, court services director; Maureen Josh, circuit clerk; Sgt. Kathy Miller, sheriff's department; Karen Grush, public health director; Jerry Lane, director, DeKalb County Mental Health Board; and Michael Flora, Ben Gordon Center. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman