MICHIGAN PLANNING ON EXPANDING DRUG COURTS

$4.3m Budget Will Help Set Up 16 More Sites

Michigan's drug courts are set to undergo their greatest expansion in a
decade with the addition of up to 16 sites and the nation's first program
to rehabilitate prison-bound parolees.

With state prisons forecast to reach capacity this year, lawmakers have
approved a plan to more than triple funding for the diversion program from
$1.2 million to $4.3 million in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

"This is going to do something really special for the state of Michigan,"
said Eaton County District Court Judge Harvey Hoffman, who oversees the
drug court there. "It's not at all a hug-a-thug program. It's about saving
money, prison space and lives."

Michigan has 27 drug courts, but Hoffman's is the only one serving
mid-Michigan. Officials said some funding could be used for two courts
planned for Lansing and one in Mason.

Drug courts are an alternative to traditional sanctions to help nonviolent
offenders stop using drugs and alcohol. Offenders in the program are put
through an intense, judicially supervised treatment program. Jail is an
option if an offender slips up.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who proposed the spending increase, is expected to
sign the budget bill making the courts one of only a handful of areas to
see increased funding in the 2004 budget.

Officials say the spending is a good investment despite a $1.5 billion
budget shortfall.

Working with parolees will lower the state's prison population, expected to
reach capacity at 50,146 by 2005, and reduce costs, among the largest in
the state's $38.6 billion budget, said Dennis Schrantz, chief deputy of
field operations for the Department of Corrections.

Next year, the courts could work with up to 600 parolees who otherwise
would go to prison. That would save an estimated $16.8 million. And
Michigan's crime rate could drop as more addicts get treatment.

"If we don't address drug and alcohol problems here, we are doing nothing
to address crime because most crimes begin with drugs and alcohol,"
Schrantz said.

Getting help

Terrence Sizeland of Olivet said he didn't even realize he had a drinking
problem until he went through Hoffman's drug court. The 59-year-old had
been drinking for 40 years, daily for 20 of them. After his fifth drunken
driving arrest on Thanksgiving Day 2000, Sizeland faced two to five years
in prison on a felony conviction.

Instead he pleaded guilty and was handed over to Hoffman, a compassionate
but tough judge who last week made two offenders spend the weekend in jail
after they relapsed. At first, Sizeland didn't take the program seriously
but he soon learned.

"I was just going to jump through their hoop, get done and go back to
drinking," Sizeland said. "But then my life got so much better, my wife and
child could see the change in me. I didn't want to let them down."

Two and a half years later, Size-land is sober, working as a loan officer
and making mortgage payments on his own home. He credits it all to the drug
court.

"Without the drug court I would either be dead or be in prison now,"
Sizeland said. "I just wish more people could go through this program and
get better like I did."

Costs are less

Michigan opened its first drug court in 1992. The courts handle about 1,900
cases a year.

Costs are significantly less because treatment runs between $3,000 and
$5,000, compared with about $28,000 a year for prison.

Chances of repeat offenses also are lessened after treatment. Hoffman said
about 13 percent of the offenders will end up back in the court system
within six years, compared with nearly 50 percent who are sentenced to
jail, probation and other traditional sanctions.

About $2.5 million of next year's funding will go toward expanding existing
drug courts and opening new courts.

The state will use another $1.8 million in federal grants for intensive
oversight of convicted felons who break parole by using drugs or alcohol.

Two courts in Genesee and Kalamazoo counties are expected to begin the
program this month, with expansion to other courts slated for this fall.

If the two pilot courts handle a combined 28 cases over the next year and
only half are successful, the state still would save $784,000, Schrantz
said. And those 14 parolees would be free of their addictions, making it
less likely that they'll commit future crimes.

"This is really the biggest test of the drug courts," Schrantz said. "This
will show exactly how successful they are in turning people's lives around."

The proposal found widespread support among lawmakers, even the most
conservative ones such as Sen. Alan Cropsey. The DeWitt Republican, known
for his hard-line approach to crime, said he is convinced of the need to
treat criminals' underlying problems.

"If we can get people to deal with the problem that caused their criminal
activity then we can help them overcome it and we can keep them from
victimizing other people," Cropsey said. "It's the best of both worlds."

SIDEBAR

Drug Courts

Michigan has 27 courts overseeing intensive treatment for nonviolent drug
and alcohol offenders. Another 16 are in the planning stages, including two
in Lansing and one in Mason. Here's a brief description of the courts:

Divisions: Adult, juvenile, family, tribal and drunken driving

Offenses: Nonviolent misdemeanor drug violations, felony drunken driving

Caseload: About 1,900 offenders per year

Cost: $3,000-5,000 per offender vs. $28,000 a year for prison

Purpose: To serve as an alternative to traditional sanctions and help
nonviolent offenders stop using drugs and alcohol

Workings: Offenders must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, complete
full treatment, perform community service, meet with probation officers and
report to a judge; jail is an option if an offender slips up

Time frame: About two years

Recidivism rate: 13 percent

*On the Web

For more about drug courts nationwide, visit www.nadcp.org.