FAMILY COURT EYED FOR DURHAM

DURHAM -- District Court Judge Elaine M. O'Neal hopes to have some new
roles soon: "part mom, part cheerleader and part disciplinarian."

It will happen if Durham gets funding for a new "family treatment court,"
designed to help drug-addicted parents whose children have been placed in
foster care because of abuse and neglect at home.

The idea is to offer such parents a range of help, from substance-abuse
treatment to assistance with housing, education and employment.

Those who succeed would get their children back. Those who didn't could
permanently lose their parental rights.

If the funding comes through, O'Neal will be presiding judge. She has vowed
to do all the mothering and cheerleading necessary to help troubled parents
get ahead.

"Those may not be traditional roles for a judge," she said. "But we've come
to realize that if we are going to be successful, we must depart from the
traditional judicial track.

"We finally have a chance to really, really help people address their drug
issues and keep families together," O'Neal added. "We've had little success
in dealing with moms addicted to crack cocaine in the past. I think this
program will turn things around."

O'Neal and other officials estimate that substance abuse is the underlying
problem for at least 90 percent of abusive parents.

In the past, such parents were hauled into juvenile court, where there was
a six-month gap between their first and second court dates. In family
treatment court, on the other hand, they would appear before O'Neal weekly
and would be subject to frequent drug screenings - a situation that would
give them much more intensive monitoring and supervision, not to mention
encouragement.

The program would be only the second of its kind in the state. The other is
in Mecklenburg County.

It is not a cheap proposition.

With an anticipated first-year price tag of $181,670, a family treatment
forum would be the most expensive of several specialty courts in Durham. A
domestic violence court, for example, is operating on less than half that
amount.

Most of the money, $129,710, would come from the state. The rest would be
supplied by a local grant.

So far, there has been a roller-coaster effect to the county's funding hopes.

When Durham officials first applied for a startup grant from the state,
their request was turned down. But since then, the Governor's Crime
Commission found some extra money and asked Durham to resubmit its
application, implying that it would be approved.

The new application was sent in two weeks ago.

Then, on Friday, a Durham agency retracted its promise of a local grant,
throwing the project into limbo once again.

State money will be withheld unless Durham demonstrates its commitment by
putting up some of the money itself. So unless officials can find another
source of local money, the court likely will be on hold for another year.

Still, Trial Court Administrator Kathy Shuart told The Herald-Sun Friday
that she and others remain optimistic.

"It's very exciting," she said. "Everybody will be a winner if we can
assist people to stop abusing drugs or alcohol and put their families back
together. Our judges are very passionate about it."

O'Neal is one of the most passionate.

"It's been a long time since I got really excited about something up here,"
she said. "This is it."

Although family treatment courts still are a novelty for North Carolina,
they have existed for some time in other states, including Arizona,
California and Florida.

O'Neal and other Durham officials recently visited such a court in San
Diego, Calif., and came away impressed.

"It was amazing," said O'Neal.

She said the California court was able to put troubled parents into its
program within 24 hours, housing them in a renovated rest home.

There is no reason Durham can't do the same if community agencies pull
together, O'Neal added.

"We hope to set standards," she said. "I believe we can do it here. There
is no reason we can't duplicate and enhance what we've seen in other parts
of the country."

Dan Hudgins, director of the Durham County Department of Social Services,
said 230 children were in his agency's custody as of Friday, many of them
because of drug-crazed abuse at home.

"When people talk about abuse and neglect around here, the first thing they
talk about is substance abuse," said Hudgins. "It's the primary reason kids
are not living with their parents."

Like other officials, Hudgins said the purpose of family treatment court is
straightforward: "The goal is to give parents an opportunity to deal with
their substance-abuse issues so they can have their kids back."

Chief District Court Judge Kenneth C. Titus said the same thing in slightly
different words: "The best outcome is for kids to return to a functioning
biological family. That will be the function of this court." District Court
Judge Craig Brown said the proposed program, with its strict supervision of
participants, would offer an enforcement element that is lacking now.

"The real difficulty with the way we do it now is that we expect addicted
people to have the motivation to go into treatment on their own," he said.
"But one of the biggest aspects of drug abuse is denial. They don't believe
they have a problem, so they don't seek help.

"Family treatment court is designed to intervene in a powerful way to force
parents to deal with their addiction problem, motivate them and ensure that
they comply," Brown added. "We're very committed to it. It's a good idea
whose time has come."

"Addicted people must have a strong motivation to seek treatment," District
Court Judge Richard G. Chaney agreed. "A requirement to report to court
frequently has proven to be a strong motivator. I recognize that courts
like this are expensive. But they are among the few available options that
have a good chance of succeeding."