CUTBACKS HIT DRUG COURTS HARD

Programs That Put Offenders in Alcohol, Drug Therapy Instead of Jail
Forced to Retrench.

DETROIT -- A runaway at 12 and a prostitute by 14, Felicia Donahue
was desperate for a fresh start.

It wasn't until the 30-year-old woman was arrested -- seriously
addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol -- that she got the chance.

A program at the 36th District Court in Detroit called Project Fresh
Start that targets drug-addicted prostitutes put Donahue on the right
path. Today she is sober, enrolled in community college and is
preparing to move into her own apartment.

"The last time I was out there, that was my motivation for trying
this program -- not wanting to go back to where I came from," Donahue said.

Yet funding for the program and dozens of others across Michigan
designed to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail and enrolled in
drug and alcohol therapy took a hit this fall when the state
announced how much or -- in many cases -- how little money it had for
each court.

Despite $5 million in requests for money for drug court programs,
only $2 million was awarded statewide. The funding shortage means
many courts are cutting back staff hours, limiting treatment options
for offenders and making defendants who often are jobless pay more to
be in the program.

With low recidivism rates, drug courts have been spreading rapidly
across the nation, especially in Michigan, where another nine
programs are under way this year.

"The problem is there are too many programs applying and not enough
funds to go around," said Marcia McBrien, spokeswoman for the
Michigan Supreme Court, which oversees the programs and financing.

Drug courts, which operate within the traditional criminal justice
system, put nonviolent offenders in intensive, 12- to 18-month
therapies that mandate constant drug and alcohol testing, sobriety
counseling and court reporting.

A 2006 study by the State Court Administrator's Office showed the
savings to Michigan taxpayers at two drug courts alone was $1 million
over two years.

Court officials need money to pay staff, subsidize drug and alcohol
testing, provide counseling to program participants and pay for
tracking devices like tethers.

Federal funds are only available for start-up programs, so court
officials must look elsewhere to make up the deficit.

Kim Chapman, director of probation at Detroit's 36th District Court,
said Fresh Start needed a full-time case manager to ensure the women
were compliant with drug testing and reporting to counseling.

But when the court's $45,000 request came up short, Chapman said
staffers would just have to make do by spreading the work around.

"You always need more money so you can do more work. These are
sensitive cases and we need smaller caseloads," said Chapman, who
oversees the program. "This reduces recidivism. This is a program
the state really needs to fund."

These programs reflect a national trend within the court system to
focus on rehabilitating drug offenders who are kept on a short leash
and under a microscope. They must constantly report for testing,
court and therapy, making it virtually impossible to continue using
substances without getting caught.

In the program run by Novi Judge Brian MacKenzie, alcohol and drug
tests are given twice a day for 60 straight days, then once a day for
another seven months. A single positive test lands the defendant back in jail.

After years of applying for federal and state funds that dwindled
over time, MacKenzie mainly funds his $150,000-a-year program with a
$135 fee that every person convicted of drunken driving and sentenced
in the 52nd District Court must pay. That raised $135,000 last year.

"It was a very tight budget year for the state. The drug court
funding was the same this year. There are just more drug courts. They
need to figure out ways to fund themselves," he said.

This month, the Macomb Circuit Court turned to its County Board of
Commissioners for funding for its drug court program after federal
funds dried up. The court is getting $210,000 from the county to keep
the program, which targets drug-related but nonviolent offenders.

Circuit Judge James Biernat said his program targets the most
difficult group of offenders -- those who keep using and keep getting
arrested. Most of the 59 program graduates were headed to prison for
lengthy terms before they were diverted into the drug court program.

Judge Phyllis McMillen, who operates a sobriety court in Waterford
Township with about 300 active participants, said she must squeeze
more money out of other agencies like the Oakland County Office of
Substance Abuse to make up for the shortage.

"Testing is very expensive and the money would help pay for things
like the alcohol tethers and alcohol monitors where you are called at
night at home and you have to test there," McMillen said. "The risk I
take is that someone on probation is going to get in a car and kill.
I need to know they are sober. And it's way cheaper than putting
someone in jail for $400 a month."