NEW PROGRAM TO ASSIST YOUTH OFFENDERS

Lane County on Wednesday officially launched a federally financed program
called "Breaking the Cycle" that aims to reduce drug use and crime among
young people.

Funded with $2 million in federal dollars, the two-year pilot program - the
first in the nation for juveniles - is designed to help up to 250 young
offenders each year.

The program may be extended for a third year if another $1 million is
granted from the National Institute of Justice, a branch of the U.S.
Justice Department.

"If we can reduce drug use, we think we can reduce crime," said Spurgeon
Kennedy, a Justice Department official in charge of the national "Breaking
the Cycle" program who was on hand Wednesday for the program start-up.

The county's Department of Youth Services was awarded the grant in November
1998 to see if it could demonstrate the effectiveness of combining
treatment, punishment and incentives to reduce youthful drug abuse and crime.

Kennedy said that nationally, 40 percent to 60 percent of all children
charged with crimes and detained test positive for drugs and/or alcohol,
and that those who commit more serious crimes or are repeat offenders tend
to have drug and alcohol abuse problems.

Lane County was picked to be the first juvenile justice program recipient
of "Breaking the Cycle" dollars because it already had a good reputation
for the way it deals with problem children, Kennedy said, speaking in the
courtroom of the unfinished Juvenile Justice Center on Centennial Boulevard.

The new center is scheduled to open next month.

"What excited us about Lane County was, there already was a lot of
intervention," Kennedy said.

Steve Carmichael, director of Youth Services for the county, said the
"Breaking the Cycle" grant will allow staff to increase the speed and
intensity of the initial evaluations done on young people who are arrested
or detained.

It will identify those who have drug problems and have a high risk of
committing more crimes, he said. Once evaluated, the youth will be admitted
- - likely by a judge's order - to one of four nonprofit agencies that have
contracted with the county to do drug, alcohol and crime-prevention
counseling.

The participants also must appear before a judge once a week and will be
more closely monitored than most of the other 2,500 young people who enter
the juvenile justice system each year, Carmichael said.

They also will undergo frequent drug and alcohol testing.

Judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, treatment providers, juvenile
probation officers and others will work together to develop individual
plans for each offender.

Judges will have the ability to hand out punishment, such as detention or
community service, if the offender fails to meet the conditions of his or
her program.

But the program also involves incentives, such as sports and movie tickets,
to reward those who are successful.

The money also helped pay for upgrading the county's computer system,
allowing judges, nonprofit agencies such as Looking Glass and youth
services officials to share up-to-date information about each person
admitted to the program.

"We'll get these kids identified more quickly, into court more quickly and
into drug rehab more quickly," said Linda Wilson, who will coordinate the
program.

"Breaking the Cycle" programs were launched last fall for adults in Tacoma
and in Jacksonville, Fla., so it's too early to tell how effective they
might be, officials said.

The Eugene program includes monitoring to gauge its effectiveness over the
next two years, Kennedy said. If it proves effective, it could change the
way corrections officials deal with young lawbreakers who abuse drugs and
alcohol, he said.