COUNTY READY TO TURN PROP. 36 INTO A REALITY

In five weeks, San Bernardino County officials will begin a $12.7
million 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 Board of Supervisors.

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

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

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 it takes effect July 1, those arrested for minor drug offenses,
possession for personal use or being under the influence, will get the
opportunity to enroll in one of seven levels of drug treatment,
including outpatient and inpatient programs.

Using data on offenders who went through the county's criminal justice
system last year, the committee estimated 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 $1.3 million to cover costs
not mandated by the initiative, like 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 more money for testing, which
experts say is critical to treating addicts.

County officials have put $2 million 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 $3 million 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 Prop. 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 is going to work.

The proposition states that drug offenders must spend a year enrolled in
treatment and complete six months of after-care. 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 County Superior Court Judge Patrick Morris, who oversees
the county's central drug court, said he's concerned that some offenders
may 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 San Bernardino 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 a drug dealer than face a judge.

San Bernardino County Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberta McPeters
said there isn't enough 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 courtroom work associated with Proposition 36 if
supervisors approve a $500,000 request by the district attorney.

"We are all going to need the resources to do this properly; 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,"
Hackleman said.

Deputy Chief Public Defender Gerald Farber 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 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?

"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."