PROP. 36 PRESENTS CHALLENGE

In five weeks, San Bernardino County officials will begin a $12.7million
plan to treat drug offenders in ways no one is sure will work.

It's unknown if there will be enough money to do what voters wanted when
they passed Proposition 36 or if addicts will receive the supervision
needed to make treatment, rather than incarceration, work.

And no one knows how much county money will be needed to supplement
state funding or how it will be spent.

Court officials, public defenders, prosecutors, probation officials and
treatment providers spent months drawing up the plan approved last week
by the county Board of Supervisors.

"The group started out a little in their own camps and later worked
together more as a unit," said John Michaelson, interim county
administrative officer.

"I think there was a synergy in the last half of the process and we
tried to design a program we thought would work," Michaelson said.

The plan calls for spending $8 million from the state; $3.3 million
billed to Medi-Cal, medical insurance companies or clients; and $1.3
million from the county.

When the proposition takes effect July 1, those charged with minor drug
offenses, possession for personal use or being under the influence will
be offered the opportunity to enroll in one of seven levels of inpatient
or outpatient drug-treatment programs.

Using data on offenders who went through the county's criminal justice
system last year, the committee estimated that the number who will
enroll in Proposition 36 programs could be as low as 6,500 or as high as
10,000, Michaelson said.

County officials have asked supervisors for $1.3million to cover costs
not mandated by the initiative, such as paying for prosecutors and
public defenders to handle the Proposition 36 caseload.

Only $500,000 in state funds was set aside for drug testing, which can't
be paid for with Proposition 36 money. County officials are waiting to
see if the Legislature will provide additional money for testing, which
recovery experts say is critical to treating addicts.

County officials here have put $2million from their state allotment into
a contingency fund that could be used to cover testing costs if
necessary.

The county's Probation Department will receive $3million for 25 more
probation officers countywide to monitor and assess drug offenders in
treatment, said Gary Paytas, a deputy chief probation officer.

"We are going to do the best we can with the money we were given by the
state," Paytas said. "We couldn't carry out the mandates of Proposition
36 without this additional personnel. This is just the bare bones, but
it's going to give us the money we need to get started."

Probation officers will be responsible for assessing treatment levels
for addicts and working with drug counselors to decide when addicts need
scolding by a judge to give them an incentive to stay clean.

Paytas said it's too early to tell if the initiative will work.

"There are so many unanswered questions as to how this is going to
unfold," he said.

The proposition states that drug offenders must spend a year enrolled in
treatment and complete six months of aftercare. When treatment is
successfully completed, defendants can ask a judge to erase the
conviction from their criminal record.

Offenders who decide they don't want treatment can serve jail or prison
time instead. If an addict who opts for treatment doesn't take the
program seriously or fails a drug test, a judge can revoke probation and
send the offender to jail.

San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Patrick Morris, who oversees the
county's Central Drug Court, said he's concerned that some offenders
might not return to court unless judges are trained to motivate them to
enter a program and stick with it.

Only 60 percent of the county's Proposition 36 caseload will go through
his courtroom. Others will be handled by judges in the county's 10 other
courts.

Morris isn't sure all judges have enough training to deal with addicts
who would rather go back to their drug dealer than face a judge.

Presiding Judge Roberta McPeters said there isn't staff to carry out the
kind of drug court model Morris wants and that money being sent by the
state won't be enough to cover it.

The county already is being asked to pay for additional prosecutors to
carry Proposition 36 cases, said Assistant District Attorney Jim
Hackleman.

Because drug offenders can plead not guilty, then opt for treatment
after they lose at trial, he said, four prosecutors will be hired to
handle additional work associated with Proposition 36 if county
supervisors approve a $500,000 request by the district attorney.

"We are all going to need the resources to do this properly," Hackleman
said. "Ultimately, what we are looking for is public safety. We have to
monitor these drug offenders who often engage in criminal conduct to
support their habit."

Gerald Farber, deputy chief public defender, said his office will add
four more lawyers, two investigators and two clerks to handle the
Proposition 36 caseload if a $721,437 request is approved by the
supervisors.

Proposition 36 presents an ethical challenge for defense lawyers: Does
one tell a client he or she can plead not guilty and still qualify for
treatment, knowing that a guilty plea and immediate entry into a program
might save the client's life?

"Our lawyers are going to be thinking, 'I might be able to beat this
case, but what about this poor guy with a drug problem on his back?'"
Farber said. "I think it's an extraordinary commitment to make this
project work.

"Making drug offenses less of a crime and more of a public health issue
is a tremendous revolution."