Pubdate: Sun, 17 Aug 2014
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (WI)
Copyright: 2014 Green Bay Press-Gazette
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/RINfDfZ0
Website: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/879
Author: Taylor Chase

WISCONSIN DRUG COURTS GROW, BUT RACIAL DISPARITIES PERSIST

Even before Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah O'Brien crunched the
numbers, she knew something was amiss. Her strongest evidence: "The
courtroom didn't look right when I walked in."

O'Brien, who retired in 2012, was referring to the stark racial
disparities in Dane County's drug court. The people in front of her -
the ones who had gotten the chance to reduce or avoid criminal
convictions in exchange for completing treatment and other programming
- - were overwhelmingly white.

In 2012, about one-third of those arrested for drug crimes in Dane
County were black, according to the state Office of Justice
Assistance. But African-Americans made up just 10 percent of those
participating in the county's drug court that year, according to
Journey Mental Health, a Madison nonprofit that provides treatment and
case management for the program.

As recently as May, despite a concerted effort to increase minority
participation, 84 percent of defendants in Dane County drug court were
white and 14 percent were black.

Drug courts such as this one in Madison are an effective way, research
has shown, to cut prison costs and to reduce recidivism by treating
addictions that fuel criminal behavior.

But it is an opportunity many people, particularly minorities, are
missing out on in Wisconsin. In Racine County in 2012, for example, 11
percent of drug-court participants were black, although about
one-third of all drug defendants arrested that year were
African-American. Disparities also can be found in Rock and Milwaukee
counties, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism found.

Experts disagree as to why these disparities exist. Some drug court
judges believe the problem lies in drug use trends in which white
offenders, whose drug of choice is heroin, are more likely to qualify
than blacks, who are much more likely to abuse cocaine.

Other experts say disparities occur not just because of drug choice,
but also factors outside of drug courts' control, including mistrust
of the criminal justice system.

Dr. Randall Brown, associate professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Department of Family Medicine and director of the
Center for Addictive Disorders, said some minority defendants with
prior criminal histories also might consider a few months in jail less
onerous than nine months in drug court.

The cost to participate is probably not a barrier; in Dane County,
offenders have about six to eight months to pay the one-time $50 fee.

GAINING POPULARITY

It is a typical day at the Dane County drug court, where Judge Juan
Colas meets with defendants who have chosen to try treatment over jail.

One participant, a 27-year-old white Madison woman, who asked to not
be identified, has two children and an extensive, but nonviolent,
criminal history, including driving while intoxicated, forgery,
burglary, theft and disorderly conduct - at least some fueled by her
addiction to heroin.

The woman told Colas she was working and had been sober for two
weeks.

"It sounds like things are headed in the right direction for you, and
you're doing what you need to be doing," the judge responded. "So
we'll see you next week."

Drug courts were first established in the late 1980s as a way to
reduce prison crowding and high recidivism. There are currently 29
drug courts in Wisconsin, up from five a decade ago.

"Because of the research out there talking about the effectiveness of
problem-solving courts, I think there is a greater understanding that
the substance abuse issue is not solved solely by incarceration," said
Michelle Cern, Wisconsin's statewide problem-solving court
coordinator.

DRUG COURTS WORK

According to a 2011 study by the UW-Madison's Brown, offenders who
participated in drug treatment courts were 50 percent less likely to
commit new crimes; and if they did commit a crime, it was for a lesser
offense with an average of 82 fewer days spent in jail.

And a study by the UW Population Health Institute found that in seven
alternative treatment programs funded by the state, 2,061 offenders
over four years avoided more than 135,000 days of incarceration. These
programs were not limited to just drug courts, but included other
alternative programs, including one for drunken drivers.

Sanctions and rewards help, but judges said there are other intangible
benefits to drug court.

"One of the primary things you need to beat an addiction is hope,"
said Milwaukee County drug court Judge Ellen Brostrom. "They
(offenders) are not just sober. They're transformed."

Colas said running Dane County's drug court is one of the most
rewarding things he has done.

"It's exciting when they graduate because you've been with them with
their arrests and sanctions and problems with parents and boyfriends
and pregnancies," Colas said.

But not many minority offenders get to experience that success.
Professionals within and outside of the courts say they are not sure
why.

That minorities, particularly African-Americans, are
disproportionately incarcerated for drug-related crimes in Dane County
is not news. A Justice Policy Institute study found in 2007 that a
black resident of Dane County was 97 times more likely to go to jail
for a drug crime than a white resident.

Brown said tracing the causes is complicated "and anyone who says they
know what the exact problem is crazy."

Wisconsin's disparities are not unique, said Douglas Marlowe, chief of
science, policy and law at the National Association of Drug Court
Treatment Professionals. "The entire criminal justice system in every
state, county and the federal system has some evidence of disparities,
from arrest rates through prisoner reentry," he said.

RESOURCES STILL SCARCE

Wisconsin began supporting drug courts in 2005 through a program
called Treatment Alternatives and Diversion, also known as TAD. Since
then, so-called problem-solving courts in 37 counties have received
about $4 million from the state.

A recent UW-Madison study found that for every $1 the state spends on
TAD programs, there is a net benefit of $1.96.

Some judges, including those in Dane County, have taken steps to get
more high-risk offenders into drug court. The theory is that more
African-Americans, who are more likely to be high-risk offenders, will
gain access to the program, Colas said.

The Dane County reorganization, which began in 2013 and was fully
implemented in January of this year, now separates the drug court
program into three risk levels based on a series of assessments.
Studies, including one by Marlowe, suggest that including the most
hard-core offenders, and tailoring the program to their needs, has the
biggest payoff.

"I am a huge advocate of developing separate tracks based on risk and
need," Marlowe said. "If participants receive services appropriately
matched to their needs, this is very likely to reduce disproportionate
impacts on minorities resulting from a one-size-fits-all approach."

Policymakers also are contemplating changes. A legislative committee
is studying Wisconsin's problem-solving court system and considering
recommendations for improvement.

Colas said many offenders can turn their lives around with the help of
drug court.

"They are real human beings with real challenges and real potential,"
Colas said. "And we always have to keep that in mind, I think."
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