NONPROFIT AGENCY WILL OVERSEE DRUG COURT

The Shelby County Commission is forming a nonprofit corporation to oversee
the county's work-release program and its court for nonviolent drug offenders.

With minor changes, the commission on Monday unanimously approved articles
of incorporation for the Shelby County Community Corrections Corporation.

The move will help shield the commission from some liability and will allow
more flexibility for private entities to assist participants in the drug
program.

"Look at this as a potential vehicle to ... bring together adult drug
court, adult work release and other tasks connected with community
corrections, pre-sentencing and post-sentencing," said County Manager Alex
Dudchock at Monday's County Commission meeting.

Drug court is an alternative sentencing program where nonviolent first-time
drug offenders can have their cases dismissed if they fulfill a six-month
program of weekly drug screenings and counseling, as well as weekly court
appearances.

Work-release is a program where nonviolent offenders avoid incarceration in
the county jail by reporting at night to a barracks lockup, but they spend
their days working for private employers. They pay a supervision fee from
their paychecks.

Work-release already existed as a separate entity, but the adult drug court
was created two years ago using contract employees and county employees
under the joint supervision of Dudchock and Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner.

Joiner said a nonprofit corporation increases the ability to work with
private groups.

"The nonprofit will have ways to be supported, in which the county cannot
be, by the community," he said.

For example, Joiner said, if the Rotary Club wanted to give $100 to the
drug program, the County Commission, as a public entity, could not spend
the money to help individuals.

"Dealing with the county has been a good thing, but they are willing to
fund us in a form that has greater flexibility," he said. "And by having
control of the board, they still control us. And that is fine. I am happy
with that, too."

Joiner cited an example of that flexibility:

"There are people in our drug court who truly need to have their medical
treatment paid for," he said. "I cannot ask the county, and the county
cannot - because of the auditing problems it would cause - pay the bill to
send `John Jones' to the doctor. Well, `John Jones' can't get over his drug
addiction if he can't get over his physical illness."

A nonprofit corporation, he said, can turn to private agencies and seek
contributions to cover such medical care. "Then, with the county in charge
of it, you know it is going to be closely monitored, but it does not have
to meet the same standards of a state audit-type thing."

The same agencies now represented on the work-release board will sit on the
new board, with two additions.

Five members of the new corporation's seven-member board will be Chief
Assistant District Attorney Bill Bostick, County Finance Manager Butch
Burbage, Dudchock, Public Defender Bob Williams and Chief Deputy Sheriff
John Samaniego.

Two more seats:

Where the document Dudchock presented to the commission contained only
those five, the commission, at the urging of Commissioner Larry Dillard,
added two seats for a county commissioner and a representative of the
general public.

Commission Chairwoman Lindsey Allison said creating the nonprofit was
unrelated to the abrupt dismissal earlier this year of a drug court
counselor for violating nonfraternization rules with clients.

"This was under discussion before that matter ever came up," Allison said.
"It was about September or October of last year."

She said the new corporation was the result of program administrators
realizing "they needed our assistance and, at the same time, an outside
incorporated agency to receive funds and in-kind contributions."