CRIMINAL OFFENDERS TARGETED

Iredell Agency Will Use County's Share To Hire Counselors For Youths

Iredell County has received part of a state grant to help youth with
substance abuse problems who are in trouble with the law break their
addictions and criminal habits.

The grant means judges and juvenile court counselors now have the
option of assigning juveniles offenders to a substance-abuse treatment
program developed by the federal government and tailored to juvenile
offenders. Research shows that substance-abuse programs designed for
specific types of users are more effective, said David Swann, CEO of
Crossroads Behavioral Healthcare.

Crossroads is the organization that applied for the grant. It's
responsible for coordinating public mental health and substance-abuse
resources in Iredell, Surry and Yadkin counties.

The $208,000 annual grant will be split among those three counties.
Iredell will get the equivalent of one full-time and one part-time
counselor to coordinate the program and work with the youth.

Treatment will be provided through Insight Human Services, a major
provider of substance-abuse services in the three counties.

The program will start in two to three months and will serve several
hundred children, Swann said.

Treatment options are already available through more general
substance-abuse programs for some juvenile offenders.

But this grant is important because it will target youth who need
intense substance-abuse treatment and focus on getting them out of the
juvenile justice system.

The idea behind the program is similar to "drug courts" for adult
offenders, Swann said.

"If we could just get these kids to break the cycle of their addiction
then they probably wouldn't offend because a lot (of criminal
activity) is related to acquiring drugs or the use of drugs," Swann
said. Swann said he has tried to get such a grant for 10 years.
National and local data shows that half of youth involved in the
juvenile justice system have substance-abuse problems, he said. Up to
10,000 youth in Iredell, Yadkin and Surry counties have addiction
problems, he said.