FUNDING FOR DRUG COURT REJECTED

Local Officials Disappointed, Not Defeated

Much-anticipated funding for a special drug court has fallen through,
forcing officials to temporarily shelve the start-up. The drug court
operating out of Chatham County Superior Court would feature treatment
rather than incarceration of some drug offenders.

Court Administrator Danny DeLoach said Friday a $494,156 sum applied for
has been rejected. The action will mean only a delay, not the end of the
project, he said.

That sum would have funded treatment only for a two-year period.

"We look at it as a minor setback because there are several more funding
sources available that we have not tapped into," DeLoach said. "The project
is still alive."

The application was one of 357 before the U. S. Justice Department, Office
of Drug Courts, he said. Only 92 of the grant applications were approved.

That money would have been available Oct. 1.

"We have enough money in one account to start the court," DeLoach said.
But, "it would be stupid to start one if we could not see it through."

Alternatives now available include a $3 million grant over three years in
conjunction with the state's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the
city of Savannah's Impact project, DeLoach said.

Impact focuses on hard-core drug violators for counseling rather than jail,
and would provide the target group for the drug court.

The drug court would take after a similar program now in operation in a
five-county court circuit based in Glynn County.

Because drugs account for more than a third of felony cases in Chatham
County, the drug court would try to weed those cases out and free the
system by treating people rather than jailing them.

Nationally, there are about 500 such courts.

Chatham County Superior Court Judge James Bass Jr., who will head the
court, said Friday he was disappointed, but remained committed to the program.

"It's really highly competitive," Bass said. "We have to see what we can do
in the meantime."

"I don't think anyone has changed positions one iota that we need a drug
court in Chatham County," Bass said.

He said the other components of the program -- court and law enforcement
personnel -- are in place, but that money is needed for the treatment phase.

"We have to see if we can accomplish the same purpose, but on a smaller
scale," Bass said.

DeLoach, who also is court administrator for the coastal Georgia court
circuit, said Brunswick's first try for federal grant money also failed. He
pledged to go after the federal money next year.

"The drug court is alive and well," DeLoach said. "I'm just going to move
it temporarily to the back burner."