Pubdate: Tue, 05 Aug 2014
Source: Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia, OH)
Copyright: 2014 The Copley Press Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesreporter.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1188
Author: Meghan Millea

PHILA JUDGE: JAIL NOT BEST SOLUTION FOR HEROIN ADDICTION

Municipal Judge Nanette DeGarmo Von Allman has come to the conclusion
that putting heroin abusers behind bars is not always the best
solution - for the individual or society.

Seated behind her desk, Judge Nanette DeGarmo Von Allman pointed to
the various motivational photos and phrases that keep her grounded day
after day, week after week. Those mementos help her as she meets with
people who seem to be on a path of self-destruction - taking loved
ones and strangers with them as they go.

As the city's municipal court judge, it's Von Allman's job to impose
consequences for any number of infractions that they may have
committed, from beating a loved one to robbing someone so they could
afford their next high.

But as she does so, she is reminded that many of the people who end up
in her courtroom are sick. Nearly all of the cases she sees have some
tie to drugs or alcohol, and many of the people she encounters are
living in the throws of an addiction that drives their every whim and
need.

"I've heard people say if you use heroin one time you can become
addicted," Von Allman said. "It reorders the chemistry in your brain."

She believes it. And she has come to the conclusion that putting them
behind bars is not always the best solution - for the individual or
society.

Von Allman isn't alone in her thinking. Recently, she, along with
representatives from the offices of the county prosecutor, public
defender, probation and local social workers attended a symposium on
heroin, which was hosted by the Ohio Supreme Court.

A NEW DIRECTION

During the symposium, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor
directed courts to become more involved in treatment-oriented options
for drug offenders before focusing on sentencing. Her sentiments were
shared by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who spoke of heroin use
in the state as more of a social issue than a criminal one.

"This is a public health crisis, and we cannot incarcerate ourselves
out of it," DeWine said.

While heroin abuse does not make up the largest part of Von Allman's
docket, she said its users can be seen circulating throughout all the
county courts. Beyond that, drug addiction itself, she said is the
public health crisis.

It's bled over to the criminal justice system, causing overcrowding in
prisons. When Von Allman began her law career 30 years ago, she said
there were a handful of prisons in the state. Today, there are 28
prisons housing 50,505 men and women - which makes up more than half
the population of Tuscarawas County.

More than 14 percent of the inmates are incarcerated on drug-related
charges alone, however the majority - 70 to 80 percent - of all the
men and women incarcerated have a history of drug and/or alcohol
abuse, according to Gary Mohr, the director of the Ohio Department of
Rehabilitation and Corrections. More than 10,000 of the inmates have
mental health issues. And each of those individuals costs taxpayers
$23,000 each or $1.16 billion a year, according to the department of
rehabilitation and corrections communications chief, JoEllen Smith.

Von Allman said she believes state lawmakers have begun to realize
that a different approach must be taken to deal with drug addiction.
That answer: treatment with court oversight.

Von Allman and Southern District Court Judge Brad Hillyer, as well as
Carrollton Municipal Court Judge Gary Willen, already have already
addressed the issue by participating in a grant program called
Choices. The three judges have partnered with the ADAMHS board,
Community Mental Healthcare in Dover, and the county's probation
department to create the program that allows offenders to work on
treatment while being held accountable to the courts.

"This is the first time, really, that there has been this level of
partnership at the municipal court level between the judge, the
probation officers and the clinicians," said Natalie Bollon, manager
of community services for the ADAMHS board.

So far, 20 people have been referred to the program. Bollon said that
the crime that lands an individual in court is not necessarily a drug
charge, but drugs are typically the root of the problem.

She said clinicians often focus on why the individual began using
drugs in the first place and, then, treat them therapeutically. The
program goes further to offer a navigator to assist people in meeting
their needs - whether it is housing, food, or taking steps toward 
employment.

Bollon cautions that these programs take a lot of time.

"Addiction develops over the course of years and it's not something
that's treated within a month or two or three," she said.

'A SOCIAL PROBLEM'

Von Allman said she is hoping to turn her program into a drug court,
similar to the one held by Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge
Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos. Thomakos has run a drug court for years and
offers court oversight and frequent reviews with defendants. Unlike
other courts that primarily focus on consequences, a drug court offers
sobriety incentives and works with a team to help the addict recover
and become a productive member of society.

Part of the reason the state is pushing local courts to adopt these
programs are the results.

According to U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs,
drug courts saved an average of $5,680 to $6,208 per offender overall
and have a far lower rate of recidivism. Recidivism in Ohio is 27
percent compared to the national average of 49.7 percent.

As a public defender, Mark Perlaky said he is grateful for the changes
made in Ohio and Tuscarawas County.

"Unfortunately, there is a segment of society that casts aside the
average drug addict as a junkie, a worthless person, who is a drain on
society," Perlaky said.

However, Perlaky said it could happen to anyone, and empathy and
compassion can go a long way toward helping people heal - so that they
do not harm themselves or society.

"This is a social problem. It needs to be dealt with on a larger
basis," said Perlaky, noting that the judges in Tuscarawas County have
been forward-thinking on the issue. "I think the justice system is on
the right track."

So does Von Allman.

"If you put a heroin addict in jail, when they get out the first thing
they'll do is use. They're at a huge risk of overdose," she said. "If
you can keep people alive, they can try to help themselves."
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