DRUG COURT FUNDING DRIES UP

Lawmakers who once supported a bill requiring that a drug court be
established in each of Mississippi's 22 Circuit Court districts have
backed off the proposal, saying funding may not be feasible.

Instead, the push this session will be to expand the system without
taking money from existing programs and

The goal is to cut down on the cost of incarceration and give some
offenders a second chance, proponents say.

Fourteen Circuit Court Districts already have drug courts, though
all are not fully operational yet, including one in Hinds County.

Forrest and Perry County have an adult drug court and the Lower
Pearl River Valley Foundation in December gave $75,000 for the
establishment of a drug court that will serve Jefferson Davis,
Lamar, Lawrence, Marion and Pearl River counties.

"We certainly don't want to create a situation where we would be
moving backwards," said Senate Judiciary A Committee Chairman Sen.
Joey Fillingane, primary author of the current legislation. "But we
hope the ultimate goal will be to expand the program."

A statewide drug court system was established in 2003, but lawmakers
failed to fund it. In 2004, the Legislature approved a special
assessment on fines for felony crimes and some misdemeanors to
provide funding. The assessment generates about $4 million a year.

Support for drug courts has been slow coming, as some believe the
system is "soft on crime," U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett told a
group of senators Tuesday.

"Drug courts are about accountability and safer communities," he said.

As of now, there are 24 certified programs across the state,
including juvenile and other drug courts. In December 2007, about
1,400 came through adult programs.

Adding new drug courts could eat up the money though, State Drug
Court Coordinator Joey Craft said.

"Right now ... we're starting to see that it's costing about the
same to fund as we're bringing in with the assessments," Craft said.

Creating more work in some districts where there are a limited
number of judges also could cause problems, Craft added. Judges
currently take on the additional work voluntarily.

Each court is funded based on the number of participants, capped at
$240,000 a year.

Craft said phasing in new drug courts would be easier so that a
funding source could be identified in advance.

"We're hoping that eventually, maybe we could expand some of the
juvenile drug courts so the system is reaching people before they
become adults," Fillingane, R-Sumrall, said.

House Judiciary A Committee Chairman Ed Blackmon agreed.

"It saves lives, families and revenue for the state," said Blackmon, D-Canton.

Fillingane said a revised bill will be discussed later in the session.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said paying for an
offender to go through the drug court program is cost effective. He
said it costs about $47 per inmate per day, or $17,155 a year, to
house state prisoners. Drug court participants are funded at
no more than $2,000 each.

This fiscal year, the Corrections Department is facing a $19 million deficit.