MADISON COUNTY WILL SOON HAVE A JUVENILE DRUG COURT

The Madison County court system will soon have a new way to treat
young people with serious drug problems: a juvenile drug court
modeled after the county's adult drug-treatment program.

Madison County's juvenile drug court will be the first of its kind in
the Metro East area. Several other Illinois counties already have
such programs, including Peoria and Cook counties.

Madison County hopes to start its program by late this month or early
next month, said Darrell McGibany, the director of the county's
probation department. The program will serve up to 30 youths between
the ages of 12 and 17.

McGibany and Jim Fraser, director of program services for Chestnut
Health Systems, presented the concept Wednesday at a meeting of
Madison County's Juvenile Justice Council.

Fraser said that the structure offered by a court-enforced anti-drug
program is essential to keeping youths in treatment. Up to 40 percent
of the 600 youths involved with Madison County Probation and Court
Services use drugs, whether periodically or regularly, Fraser said.

But young people are less likely to enter treatment for the reasons
that adults seek treatment, such as the toll that drug abuse takes on
their jobs, their families or their health.

The adult drug court in Madison County has reported great success
since it started in 1996, McGibany said. Of the program's 150
graduates, only six have gone on to commit another drug-related
crime, McGibany said.

Criminal charges against a participant are dismissed after completion
of the program.

"It's scary to me that we're that successful, but national research
shows that the longer we keep people in treatment, the less likely it
is that they will reoffend," McGibany said.

Successful completion of the program is expected to take at least six
months, with up to three months of follow-up care.