DRUG COURT GETS FINANCIAL HELP, SEEKS MORE FUNDING

The 14th Judicial Circuit's drug court program received a boost last week
when a Beaufort County Council committee voted to contribute $35,000.

The Finance Committee recommendation is expected to come before the full
council at its meeting today.

In 1999, the Drug Court was funded by a three-year federal grant, which was
intended to help start the program, said Susan Chapin, director of the Drug
Court program, serving Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties.

"But the agreement was after three years, the counties or towns that are
participating in the programs were supposed to start funding it," she said.

Chapin said the estimated cost of running the program is about $350,000 a
year for counseling, supplies, salaries and other necessities, and she is
in the process of seeking funding to cover the costs.

She and her staff are searching for money to keep the program alive while
county and town councils are preparing their budgets for the next fiscal
year, which begins July 1.

Chapin said there were four counselors working with the program's
participants to stay free of drugs and alcohol.

The Drug Court provides intensive addiction treatment and supervision to
nonviolent offenders. During the program, participants must appear in court
weekly, attend counseling sessions and agree to have random drug tests for
12 to 18 months, depending on the person's situation.

If they don't, participants can be ordered to serve community service or
jail time.

Beaufort attorney Manning Smith, who volunteers as the Drug Court's judge
in Beaufort County, said participants pay a $1,065 fee that must be paid
before they graduate.

"This helps pay for their treatment and drug testing while in the program,"
Smith said.

He said seven of the Beaufort County program's 22 participants live in
unincorporated Beaufort County, and the court was seeking a $5,000
contribution from the county for each one.

He said the court is seeking similar contributions from municipalities in
the county, based on the number of residents they have in the program.

"I do not want to see (the Drug Court) go away because of a lack of
funding," he told the committee.

Smith said Hilton Head residents make up the majority of the county
program's participants.

"Around 10 people or so are from Hilton Head," he said. "So we pretty much
determined to ask each municipality and county for about $5,000 (per
participant) to help counsel their residents."

Chapin said she had met with the Hampton County Council, the Port Royal
Town Council and Hilton Head Island Town Council to seek funding.

So far, she said, she hasn't heard anything from these officials.

Hilton Head's Town Council is debating whether it should help pay for the
Drug Court, Town Manager Steve Riley said last week.

"We're just waiting to see if the other counties will come forth and award
the Drug Court before we make a decision," Riley said.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said the program is a great asset to
Beaufort County and to law enforcement.

"What I like about the Drug Court is that the participants plead guilty
upfront to a judge," Tanner said. "If they are accepted into the program
and don't follow through, they either go to jail or on probation."

Since March 2000, seven people have successfully completed the program in
Beaufort, Hampton and Colleton counties, Chapin said.

"They are learning how to live drug- and alcohol-free," she said. "They
have learned how to live life on their own."