ALTERNATE OFFENDER PROGRAM GROWING

Drug Court May Soon Offer Some Faith-Based Jail Alternatives

After barely hanging on through a tough first year, Harris County's drug
court is gaining acceptance -- and some much-needed money aimed at bringing
faith-based groups into the effort.

The fledgling program, still small in comparison with others in Texas,
appears ready to expand as local and state officials seek ways to relieve
pressure on crowded prisons by offering low-level drug offenders treatment
instead of jail.

"In the beginning, there were a lot of questions and some uncertainty. But
now, I think everybody has begun to see that we are able to deal with these
people in a smarter, better way," said state District Judge Brock Thomas,
who plans to begin volunteering with the drug court this spring.

"Hopefully, we can break the cycle of having them come down here again and
again and keep them out of the system," he said.

Program set to expandDrug courts, which operate in nearly all major Texas
cities, are designed to offer an alternative to jail. Defendants plead
guilty to criminal charges and receive treatment and intensive social
services while under probation supervision.

Harris County's 18-month-old program, which has about 130 participants, is
preparing to expand to more than 200 in the program by the end of the year.

It's getting a boost from President Bush, whose faith-based initiatives
include money to expand drug courts by giving addicts the option of
treatment with church-based groups.

"We haven't been getting that good of a result for our money," said Bert
Thompson, a board member at Houston's Restorative Justice Community, a
group that supports faith-based social service providers.

"We have a lot of people who are really ready to sit down and deal with
these issues," Thompson said. "And what you are going to begin to see is
the impact of what doesn't show up on the books, and that is volunteer hours."

New federal money is expected as early as next month. Offering the option
of faith-based treatment is a condition for the $22.8 million, three-year
grant split evenly among Texas' six most-populous counties.

Eric Collins, a drug-court participant, says the support he gets from his
church makes him think faith-based treatment can work.

"With education and faith, this city could really get a lot of people out
from under those bridges and the dope dealers would go out of business,"
said the recovering crack addict.

Popularity predictedCollins has spent almost three months in a secular
residential treatment program in La Marque but attends the Concord Bible
Fellowship in Pearland. He was facing a prison sentence ranging from two to
10 years after police found a rock of crack in his car in November. Based
on his experience, Collins, 41, thinks faith-based options may prove
popular and effective.

"I can guarantee you, almost everyone in (the treatment center) would have
jumped on it," he said. "Most of these guys believe in God, so if you have
any kind of belief, the faith mixed with the education, you become a winner
again."

The program still depends largely on the volunteer efforts of court
officials. Judge Thomas joins state District Judges Caprice Cosper and
Michael Wilkinson in the program. Assistant District Attorneys Katherine
Cabaniss and Hans Nielsen also plan to begin working with the drug court.

The number of offenders in the program is still a small fraction of the
total of low-level drug cases. Authorities say Harris County sends about
3,000 people to state jails each year for possessing less than 1 gram of a
controlled substance.

Only a few religious organizations offer full treatment services, but
officials hope more will get involved as money becomes available.

"I'm hoping it will encourage a lot of faith-based organizations to expand
the services they offer and really grow their programs and be a good,
viable choice for people in recovery," said Mary Covington, coordinator of
the drug court, which began in September 2003.

Offenders' optionsThe new money will be provided through vouchers. Drug
users entering treatment will decide whether they want a faith-based or
traditional government-sponsored treatment after counselors assess their
needs, Covington said.

The new rules are welcomed at the Star of Hope Christian mission, one of
the faith-based organizations offering intensive residential drug treatment
here.

Patrick Asuquo, a licensed chemical dependency counselor, said the
mission's approach is similar to the traditional 12-step Alcoholics
Anonymous program. The faith-based element is crucial, he said.

"When people do the kind of things that drug addicts do, the first result
is spiritual bankruptcy," Asuquo said. "So the spiritual aspect becomes the
core from which to rebuild."

Supporters also note that, along with clearly defined treatment programs,
many faith-based groups can offer an informal support network of volunteers
and a church community.

At the Refuge Development Community Center, an affiliate of the City of
Refuge Church in southeast Houston, a weekly program provides counseling
and support for newly released prisoners. In addition to group sessions
focusing on employment and parenting skills, the center invites
participants for basketball games and pizza.

"So often, what these people need most is encouragement," said Don Taylor,
who helps run the Refuge Center's counseling programs.

Skeptical of resultsThough drug courts and faith-based options have gained
political popularity, some academics who study substance abuse remain
skeptical, said Dr. Carlton Erickson, director of the Addiction Science
Research and Education Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

"There is no research on faith-based treatment. It's too new," he said.

Erickson said there is a distinction between most of those who abuse drugs,
which he sees as a behavioral problem, and those who become chemically
dependent, a condition that requires medical attention.

"While churches may be ideally suited to treat substance abuse, they are
not necessarily equipped to deal with chemical dependency, just like you
would not go to a church for treatment for diabetes," Erickson said.

The drug courts' popularity has grown as state jails and prisons approach
capacity for the first time in more than a decade.