DRUG COURT'S FIRST GRADS GET NEW START

At Age 13, Amber Dills Was Living Life Fast.

She was addicted to cocaine and had gone through her first unsuccessful
drug-rehabilitation treatment.

It's been a long road, with a few run-ins with the law and setbacks along
the way, but Dills, now 15, says she's drug-free. She got some official
recognition of her progress last week.

She and two other teenage girls stood proudly before a tiny, packed
courtroom Thursday evening and became the first three students to graduate
from Metro's Juvenile Drug Court.

It's an intense program requiring heavy-duty court supervision, strong
commitment from parents and a whole lot of 12-stepping.

But Metro Juvenile Court officials said the payoff for the graduates and
the community is worth it.

Many of those targeted by the Juvenile Drug Court would be out committing
crimes to pay for drugs or out on the corner selling drugs, said Julia
Tucker, supervisor of Juvenile Drug Court. For many of the participants,
it's the last step before these kids get sent to state custody.

The program works with nonviolent offenders who have moderate to serious
drug problems.

It took Dills two years to get through it. The other graduates, Samantha
and Patricia Mangrum, sisters who went through the Drug Court program
together, took a year.

Juvenile Court officials say they expect it will take about a year for the
average teen to graduate from the Drug Court. It requires heavy supervision
from the court, lots of checks with probation officers and a strong dose of
therapy and community support.

"There's a huge amount of supervision, and with supervision, there comes
community safety," said Juvenile Court Referee Alan Calhoun. The girls said
that initially they had curfews as early as 5 p.m. and were required to
check in with probation officers once a week.

It's not easy to do when your friends are using, the three girls said after
graduating.

"That's the hardest," said Patricia Mangrum.

Dills said she had to give up some of her friends along the way.

For Mangrum's sister, there was more incentive to get off drugs. Samantha
Mangrum was pregnant while she was going through rehabilitation. If she
didn't comply, she risked having the Department of Children's Services take
her baby away.

For parents who are at risk of losing custody of their children to the
state's foster care system, the Juvenile Court also has a separate Drug Court.

About 12 parents are in Family Treatment Court within the Juvenile Court.
They have yet to graduate, but court officials are hoping to keep these
families together.

"Everyone wins if we get a parent to go to drug treatment and it's
successful," said Calhoun, who presides over the two drug courts.

The Metro Council gave Juvenile Court $325,000 for the drug courts.

Juvenile Court Administrator Tim Adgent said the benefits of helping young
people turn their lives also include financial savings, as the state saves
money when juveniles stay out of state custody.

Court officials acknowledge that what they're asking the kids to do isn't easy.

At the graduation ceremony, Juvenile Court Judge Betty Adams Green told the
girls how proud she was that they were able to stick with the program.

"It's difficult when peers and friends are all saying, 'Let's party. Let's
do this, let's do that,' " Green told them.

Dills said that was one of the biggest challenges she had to face. She
relapsed once when an old boyfriend came to town and was using drugs. She
learned that she had to give up some of her friends and be patient.

"You take it one day at a time," the teen said. "That's what we learned in
rehab. I know I'm not doing drugs today." And she kissed her mother on the
head.