YOUTH DRUG COURT PLANS ON TRACK

Forrest County Youth Court Judge Mike McPhail said he hopes Forrest County
will be the second Mississippi county to fully implement a youth drug court
system. The Forrest County Youth Court was selected in November to
participate in a Drug Court Planning Initiative through the United States
Justice Department's Drug Court Program and the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Courts.

The initiative provides for 10 people involved in the county's youth court
system to attend three training sessions to help begin a youth drug court.
The group attended their first three-day training session in January in San
Antonio, Texas, McPhail said.

"This is not an individual endeavor," he said. "This is a team and it
really looks at the juvenile justice system and drug court planning from a
systemic approach. The overall goal is to help the youth."

The program would determine if a juvenile has a substance abuse problem and
then provide several treatment sessions and meetings with court personnel.
The team members include police, court and treatment officials.

Social worker Linda Vasquez of Drug Free Resources For Education
Alternatives in Mississippi of Hattiesburg attended the January training
session.

"The most common goal is to provide children with an opportunity to become
clean and sober," Vasquez said. "We provide support in resisting crime
activity further and it also supports their performance in school,
developing positive relationships in the community and hopefully providing
skills that'll aid them in leading substance-free lives."

Officials with the Adams County Youth Court were the first to begin
offering a youth drug court last year. Adams County Youth Judge John Hudson
said a youth drug court takes a lot more time to oversee.

"I can't tell you any disadvantages except the time it takes," he said.
"It's an intense supervision court. You're actually visiting and seeing
those in court on a regular basis. It's a court that really has an ability
to make a big difference in people's lives."

Hudson said Madison County Youth Court officials are also going through the
same training program that Forrest County officials are.

"This is a relatively new concept and I have to admit, when I first got
involved I walked in with concerns," Hudson said. "But after being involved
for a year and seeing the transformation of individual kids, I believe this
is fantastic. I've seen kids change that I would've never thought would've
transformed."

By taking part in the training sessions, Forrest County will be able to
apply for federal grants to help begin and implement a youth drug court.
McPhail said he's not sure what the cost would be to implement or run a
full youth drug court. But he said even if the county does not get extra
grants, he hopes to have one or two juveniles going through a trial drug
court program by the end of the year.