KEEPING TEEN NOSES CLEAN

CHAPEL HILL - Nicole Dube's teenage clients have called her a stalker.

A youth case manager for Project Turn Around, she meets with 12 to 15
first-time drug offenders at least twice a week, visits their homes, drives
to their schools and checks in with their therapists. She randomly tests
their urine and scolds them if need be.

"The most frustrating thing for me is to get them to understand that I
care," Dube said. "My goal is for them to succeed. I hope the only thing
they leave here with is the thought that, 'I'm never going through this
again.' "

Dube, a slender, spunky woman from Queens, N.Y., is the first full-time
youth case manager for drug offenders in Orange and Chatham counties. Now,
six months after she took the position at the Chapel Hill Police
Department, court officials and the community say the program has been
effective.

"Project Turn Around is our core program when we're dealing with
substance-abuse kids," said Peggy Hamlett, acting chief court counselor in
Orange and Chatham counties. "We're coming to depend on them heavily.
Nicole does very good work."

Project Turn Around is a rehabilitation program for first-time drug
offenders that provides an alternative to jail. Adult participants are
required to stay in the program from six months to a year. They meet in
groups and with case managers and are subject to random drug testing.

The program, which began for adults in 1993, is unique in North Carolina
because it's the only one of its kind operated within a police department,
said Bill Cozart, the program's coordinator. Officers can share information
about offenders with their case managers, and the community can see that
police are concerned about giving people a second chance.

The town of Chapel Hill and Orange and Chatham counties share the
more-than-$140,000 cost for the adult program, which supervises about 180
people each year, Cozart said. The state Office of Juvenile Justice and the
counties pay $54,443 for the youth program, which serves 12 to 15 teens at
any given time. Beginning in July, Chatham County will acquire its own
part-time case manager to supervise six to eight youths at a time.

Dube's position marks the first time Orange County has provided intensive
case management for juveniles, Cozart said. The program is still in the
beginning phase, as Dube and her colleagues are working to educate other
agencies about their goals and expectations.

"For a person to do what we're asking, you need to have a high energy
level, a commitment to serve this particular population, and an
understanding of the juveniles and their families," Cozart said. "And
Nicole has those skills. You can see that she really cares about the
clients' doing well. She puts time and effort into each case, and she has
high expectations for these juveniles."

After teens are referred to Project Turn Around by court and law
enforcement officials, they meet with Dube for a brief screening, then get
together for a one-hour assessment soon after. The teens -- all charged as
juveniles -- are required to meet with Dube and call her weekly for six to
eight months or until their probation ends. They have to attend group
meetings for 12 weeks and submit to random drug testing. Dube checks up on
them at home and at school.

About half of Dube's clients have gotten into trouble with marijuana, the
other half prescription medications. They have a lot of excuses, such as
they didn't know it was illegal to distribute their parents' medications,
or marijuana corrects glaucoma -- a claim that studies have cast into doubt
- -- or that it is legal in other countries so it ought to be legal here.
Dube tells them to save their money so they can move to one of those countries.

"They just have a lot of misinformation," Dube said, laughing. "It's futile
to argue with an adolescent about pros and cons."

Instead, Dube teaches the teens about the down side of drugs. They learn
about tar and nicotine, damage to reproductive organs and short-term memory
loss. During weekly group meetings, they discuss alcohol, drugs,
self-esteem, decision making, peer pressure, relationships and family.

Burmadeane George, program facilitator for Phoenix Academy Alternative
School, has seen several of her students excel through Project Turn Around.
She has noticed a positive change in "every last one of them." The most
recent student returned to her home school and is on the honor roll.

Project Turn Around succeeds in helping students refocus, George said,
because case managers don't try to work in isolation. They coordinate
family, school and therapy. "They just make sure the student knows that
every facet is integral for him to progress," George said.

The program thrives under Dube, a take-charge, upbeat person.

"She's down-to-earth with all the kids," George said. "She speaks their
language. But she still has an air of professionalism."