DRUG COURT PROGRAM VOLUNTARY

As the Chairman of the Charleston County Juvenile Drug Court Board, I
want to thank the Post and Courier for the recent article concerning
the court and the editorial support which followed. However, I also
want to clarify that even though there is a "partnership" between the
Drug Court and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the limited number of
juveniles who participate in the church's Alpha Christian Bible Study
do so voluntarily and only with the permission of a parent or
guardian. No child is ever required to attend the program; nor are
they ever ordered to do so "as a condition of probation." Members of
the judiciary have unique responsibilities with regard to upholding the
Constitutional mandate of separation of church and state. Both Judge
Segars?Andrews ; and Judge Cate are careful to insure that the
juveniles who indicate an interest in the Bible study classes are
fully advised, as are their parents, that their participation in
those classes is not mandatory. They are also informed that the Drug
Court can assist them with transportation, if necessary should they
desire to attend the classes. With this information, both the
juveniles and their parents, can then make an informed decision as to
whether or not there is some benefit to derived from attending the
Alpha program. That decision is, as it should be, a matter of personal
choice.

With regard to the other counseling services and assistance offered by
the Rev. Kilpatrick and his parishioners that were discussed in the
article, all of these are purely secular, wiithstanding the fact that
most of them do take place at the church. Included in this assistance
are things such as anger management counseling and life skills
training which the judges, in their discretion, can order if the need
is there. Since these programs are not religious in nature, and are
specifically designed to address the kinds of problems that brought
these adolescents into the Family Court system in the first place, it
is not an abuse of that discretion to require a juvenile to
participate in these particular counseling and training sections. It
should be also be noted that because of the church's sponsorship of
these programs, and others like them, much needed services can be
provided to our "kids?" at little or no expense to the tax?paying public.

As article states, the Drug Court receives its funds from the County
and the $5.00 weekly fee paid by each of the juveniles who are in the
program. However, that weekly contribution is used to underwrite the
cost of mandatory drug screens that are required of every Drug Court
participant. Because our resources are so limited, we actively seek
and gratefully receive, assistance from all sectors of the community,
not just those that are faith-based. Included among these are local
businesses, private foundations, city governments, social service
agencies S.C. Court Administration and the Medical University of South
Carolina. That support has allowed us to operate the program at
minimal public expense. More importantly, it has given us the
opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those
juveniles who are presently in, or who have already graduated from,
the Drug Court. It is most unfortunate that the article could not
address that support, too.

Patricia A. Kennedy

Attorney at Law