Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2008 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240 Author: Bill Estep and Cassondra Kirby DRUG TASK FORCE FACING CUTBACKS A task force that has arrested more than 2,400 drug suspects in Eastern Kentucky the past five years and provided money for drug treatment and education has laid off employees because of reductions in its federal funding, and could face a cut in a counseling program if it doesn't come up with more money. Operation UNITE laid off 10 police officers and two other employees. The task force had earlier left positions open in anticipation of a cut in federal funding, said Karen Engle, UNITE president and CEO, so the initiative now has 23 police officers, down from 40 officers at its peak. UNITE has been a significant initiative against the debilitating drug problem in Eastern Kentucky the past few years, so the cutbacks are a concern in the region. However, Engle vowed that UNITE would continue its core mission. The organization has applied for grants and is looking at other potential money sources, including corporate sponsorships. "We're not going away," Engle vowed. "We have tightened our belts and restructured the organization so that UNITE can fight the drug scourge over the long haul." UNITE is still the biggest drug task force in the state, Engle said. U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers of Somerset, a Republican who represents the 5th Congressional District, founded UNITE in 2003 with a three-prong mission: arrest drug dealers, increase treatment for addicts, and sponsor education aimed at reducing drug abuse. UNITE stands for Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education. The initiative works through a variety of programs. In addition to law enforcement, it helps set up community coalitions, sponsors fishing tournaments and other activities for young people, promotes drug courts and provides money for drug counselors in more than 40 school districts. Rogers said he founded the program in response to a series of articles in the Herald-Leader. Among other things, the newspaper reported that Eastern Kentucky led the nation in the amount of painkillers prescribed per capita, increasing the potential for illegal diversion; that police in rural areas were shorthanded; and that there was a shortage of treatment. Randy Poff, a sheriff's deputy in Perry County, said there was a time when the drug problem was beyond what local police could control, but UNITE has had a significant effect on the problem. "A couple of years ago, you could walk down Main Street here in Hazard and have people ask to sell you drugs or ask to buy drugs from you," Poff said. "But you don't hear of that happening now. Drug dealers are scared that the person asking to buy is an undercover UNITE officer. UNITE has really made a big difference at the street level." However, Poff and others said the problem is far from solved -- with drug sales, overdoses and thefts by people looking for money to feed an addiction still common. Rogers, a powerful committee chairman when the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, got $8 million earmarked for UNITE each year of its first three years and then upped that to $9.1 million in 2006-07. However, UNITE got nothing for 2007 after Democrats took control of Congress and suspended earmarks while tinkering with the system. UNITE got through 2007 without major problems because it had some carryover money, but in the budget President Bush signed last month, UNITE received only about $4 million. Rogers spokesman Jim Pettit said the lower earmark had nothing to do with Rogers now being in the minority. "It's a different fiscal reality this year and part of it has to due with a budget deficit," Pettit said. UNITE is still one of the largest line items in the U.S. Department of Justice budget, Pettit said. A year with no appropriation and then a big cut in what it was used to getting meant UNITE had to cut back, however. Pike County Sheriff Charles "Fuzzy" Keesee called UNITE's layoffs "troubling and unfortunate," noting that drug cases can be time-consuming and complex to put together. UNITE won't be able to work as many cases with fewer officers; communities will expect local police to take up the slack, but they can't, Kessee said. "We just can't do the job that UNITE does in fighting illegal drug abuse. We don't have the money, the personnel or the time to even make a dent in this war," he said. In Manchester, churches, business leaders, bankers and community members have joined forces to help pay salaries for two detectives laid off from UNITE until the city can come up with money to pay them, said Doug Abner, pastor of Community Church and a leader in residents' efforts to fight drugs. "We have come so far in this county, we just can't go back," Abner said. In addition to laying off employees, UNITE has changed the guidelines so fewer people will qualify for treatment vouchers and cut the grants available to community coalitions for projects from $10,000 every six months to $5,000. UNITE has a contract to provide school drug counselors through June. The agency has applied for a grant to continue the program and hopes the state will help, but if new money doesn't come through, UNITE has no funding for the counselors next school year, Engle said. That program is a particular concern because it can help kids who face drug problems at home. "I know it's making a difference," Engle said. Rogers, Engle and others also are trying to find other funding sources for the program, such as corporate sponsorships and grants -- including one from the United Nations. UNITE is a non-profit agency and has a foundation that can accept tax-deductible donations. Another potential is to get money for some programs from federal agencies other than the Justice Department. Officials also are exploring whether Bush will include UNITE funding in his budget request to Congress. Engle met with the president in December and described UNITE's work to him. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath