SECOND CHANCE: LANE COUNTY STARTS STATE'S FIRST DRUG COURT FOR YOUNG
CRIMINALS

Lee thoughT he'd hit bottom: He was 15, smoked $50 worth of marijuana, used
$25 worth of methamphetamine and drank all day, every day.

He roamed the streets, robbed for dope and woke up in the beds of strangers
or in juvenile detention.

"I did a lot of things I was ashamed of," he says. "A lot of things I don't
remember because of the drugs. I was a mess."

Then, at age 17, things got worse.

Arrested for second-degree robbery, theft and assault on a pot dealer, Lee
faced a mandatory five-year, 10-month prison sentence and the prospect of
missing important years of his baby son's life.

The turning point came when Lee walked into Lane County's new juvenile drug
court, the first of its kind in the state. The pilot program picks
delinquent drug users at random for intense treatment and family counseling
instead of sending them to jail or to less-comprehensive programs.

It's modeled after successful adult drug courts that help addicts stay clean
by addressing the underlying causes of their drug use.

"I got lucky," says Lee, who - with 109 days of sobriety - is at the head of
his class.

"People do care about me"

Juvenile drug courts are relatively new nationwide: About 80 programs are
operating in 29 states, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. About
90 more are planned in 14 additional states. Six more are planned in Oregon
in coming months.

The 4-month-old Lane County program - known as Recovery And Progress Court,
or RAP Court - relies on creative approaches geared to each kid's situation
and incentives rather than punishment to deal with their crimes and
addictions.

It can take 25 kids at a time, and now has five girls and 11 boys enrolled
as it gets started. Officials expect the average stay will be around 10
months.

Five nonprofit treatment and training agencies collaborate to build on each
kid's strong points, reward honest efforts to change, and crack down on
those who try to con their way through the program.

"These kids learn over time that doing good feels better than doing
otherwise," says Alex St. Clair, an assessment specialist with the drug
treatment program ACES, one of the five agencies.

"Once they are in treatment and achieve some success, they realize they can
have a life without drugs, without self-medicating with drugs," St. Clair
says.

Among the rewards, for example: Kids can earn a later curfew with parental
approval. Newcomers must be home by 6 p.m., but can get that moved back to 8
p.m. or later with good behavior. Slip-ups may result in house arrest.

Some kids can get gift certificates donated by local businesses for meals,
goods and services that their families need. In a few instances, the court's
federal grant money has gone to cover a portion of a family's rent or
utility bill.

"If you're honest with the judge, he is really cool, even if you do mess
up," Lee says. "The ones who aren't trying are the ones who get the
punishments."

Lee tried to kick his drug addiction once before in a three-month outpatient
program, but relapsed. This time, the combination of concentrated court
involvement, residential treatment and personal attention are helping him
stick to his resolve. He asked not to have his full name used because he
wants to re-enter society with a clean slate.

"I'm learning I don't have to do it by myself. People do care about me. They
do support me," Lee says. "I can go to them. I can ask for help now. It
works a lot better."

He's also learned to reach out to others. "If you help other people deal
with their stuff, it helps you to deal with your stuff in the long run," Lee
says.

The Court Scene

While Lee is a role model for others in RAP Court, not all the kids stay as
focused on recovery. Counselors, probation officers and court officials keep
a day-to-day watch over each one.

On Wednesdays, they gather for a two-hour briefing before the weekly court
session to compare notes, share ideas and brainstorm new strategies for each
of their young charges.

"It's like a book you open each week to a new chapter," Juvenile Court Judge
Kip Leonard says. "What's going to happen this week?"

Far and away, the majority of youth drug problems revolve around chronic
marijuana use. But there's a mix of methamphetamine, hallucinogen and heroin
use, too. Most of the RAP Court kids are in outpatient drug treatment, where
they meet one to three times a week in treatment groups and undergo random
testing for drugs.

During their Wednesday pre-court briefing, social workers focus on each
child's compliance with probation orders, school performance, family
interactions and overall attitude.

There's the boy who admitted he smoked pot when he went to the Eugene Mall
to hang out with friends. Otherwise, he's doing well in his programs. In
court, Leonard orders him to do eight hours of chores at his mom's direction
and to stay off the mall.

There's the girl who defies Leonard's order to live at home with her mother
instead of with her boyfriend. She tested positive for drug use. Leonard
issues an arrest warrant for her.

There's the boy who, just released from detention, is back to skipping
school. Leonard orders him to stop the skipping and to do community service
over the weekend.

"The kids have ups and downs. We see that. You don't just see an upward
trend," says Bill Wolf, a Looking Glass counselor who works in drug court.
"This is still really new. We're figuring it out as we go along."

Treating the Family

A key to a kid's ultimate success is treating the entire family, Leonard
says.

"It's really a family-based program," the judge says. "With all these kids,
there are significant family issues. There's not a formula to it. We really
want to be a strength-based, incentive-based program - with penalties when
appropriate."

Many of the young addicts started using drugs at an early age. Some even
used drugs with their parents.

Lee first smoked marijuana at age 6 when he found his mother's pipe in the
living room. Later, his house became a place for kids to go and get high
when they skipped school.

"Something about it; I loved it," Lee says. "All my problems went away. I
think that's what people look for in drugs. It was a cure-all. I needed more
and more to get rid of my problems. I had to move into harder drugs." By 14,
Lee had taken up his mother's drug of choice, methamphetamine.

When family dynamics are at the root of drug use, solutions lie in solving
relationship problems within the family, says Mitch Schwartz, clinical
supervisor at the Center for Family Development, another of the nonprofits
working in RAP Court.

Some parents, for example, never learned to set consistent, clear and
reasonable limits on their children. The court program, in some ways, takes
on that parental duty while teaching parents to take back their role.

No two families are alike, Schwartz says. But the recipe for trouble comes
from a common list of ingredients. Generally, young addicts are failing in
school or have dropped out. They come from families that usually are
low-income, frequently single-parent and have a history of drug abuse,
domestic violence, child abuse or neglect.

The emotional support normally found in a family dies out when family
members don't find ways to resolve their conflicts. Feelings of unfairness
create hostility and hopelessness, Schwartz says.

"You have to break that logjam, get people to understand they can help each
other," he says.

Need Exceeds the Space

In Lee's case, he can't go back to live with his mother.

"She's busy with her own drug problems," Lee says. "I don't want to have
anything to do with my mom, or I'll get back into drugs."

When he finishes his court-ordered residential drug treatment in the
Pathways program, he'll live with an aunt who has supported him in the past.

Lee also is getting help from a Narcotics Anonymous sponsor who serves as a
personal adviser, confidant and friend.

And now he realizes his own family obligations.

"I'm trying to get my life together for my kid," he says. "I was neglected
all my life. I don't want to see my kid end up like that."

Lee earned high marks in completing his GED and will graduate from his
treatment program in September.

He plans to study to become a registered nurse, using financial aid he lined
up with the help of Pathways officials.

And he'll have a felony-free criminal record if he stays on track - one of
the incentives the judge offered to encourage Lee to adopt a drug-free
lifestyle.

The incentive is substantial: His future employment applications will be
unclouded by his mistakes.

"That was the biggest thing," Lee says. "I was already going to get clean. I
just needed a reason to be there. What's the point of getting my life
together if I couldn't get rid of my past?"

Others need the program just as much as he does, he says.

"I can name 14 of my friends who need this program right now," he says.
"Somebody has got to start caring. You can't just let the kids build up in
the gutters."

LANE COUNTY RAP COURT

What it costs: About $3,500 for each youth, with funding from a portion of a
three-year, $3 million federal Juvenile Breaking the Cycle grant that aims
at speeding the response to juvenile crime. Part of the federal grant pays
for independent evaluation of RAP Court results.

The need: Officials estimate the court will meet about one-third the
estimated need for RAP Court services. It serves young offenders up to age
18.

RAP COURT AGENCIES

Lane County Department of Youth Services: Provides probation, detention and
an assortment of intermediate services to supervise and reform young
criminals. 682-4700.

ACES: A nonprofit comprehensive outpatient drug treatment service. 344-2237.

Center for Family Development: A nonprofit comprehensive family counseling
service. 342-4863.

Looking Glass Youth and Family Services: A nonprofit agency with a wide
range of counseling, treatment, training and shelter programs. 689-3111.

Pathways: A branch of Looking Glass, operates 14 residential drug treatment
beds, the only ones available in Lane County for delinquent boys. 682-7979.

Willamette Family Treatment Services: A nonprofit with comprehensive
counseling and treatment programs, some specifically for girls. Operates
four residential drug treatment beds, the only ones for delinquent girls in
Lane County. 343-2993.