L.A. COUNTY LIKELY TO ASK STATE FOR DRUG COURT FUNDING BOOST

POMONA -- Gloria Molina plans to ask her fellow Los Angeles County
Supervisors today to urge the governor to fight for more Drug Court funding,
money targeting juvenile and family programs.

The letter to Gov. Gray Davis, if signed by the other board members, would
come on the eve of the Pomona Drug Court's one year anniversary, when its
first class of clients are close to graduating.

"The court needs additional funds to treat people on the waiting list," said
Jerianne Hayslett, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Superior Courts.

The supervisors' likely action will ask the governor to make more money
available under the Comprehensive Drug Court Implementation Act of 1999,
which provides funding for those courts not financed under the older Drug
Court Partnership Act - such as juvenile drug courts.

"The new comprehensive act fills in some very important areas, for example
juvenile defendants, family drug courts and for those programs such as in
Los Angeles County that are pre-plea drug courts," said Judge Patrick Morris
of the San Bernardino County Drug Court program. "This is vital as we grow
to serve the needs of all our constituents."

The Drug Court Partnership Act provided $8 million for 4 years, Morris said.

Davis submitted an $11 million finance letter to the legislature for
additional drug court funding, but the request was rejected by the Senate
and the Assembly, said California Department for Alcohol and Drug Programs
spokeswoman Maria Caudill.

"What the governor proposed allowed quite a bit of flexibility in providing
services to individuals and their families, including juveniles," Caudill
said. "The extra funding would have brought the total allocation to $21
million."

The governor's request now goes to a conference committee, that has yet to
be formed, she said.

California's first drug court was established in Alameda County nine years
ago and the state now has 81 adult and 19 juvenile programs in 46 counties,
according to California Department for Alcohol and Drug Programs documents.

Drug courts rely on a mix of federal grants and state funding.

The Pomona Drug Court, one of the newest in the state, has 57 people in
various stages of treatment from detox to therapy to job training and job
placement, Hayslett said.

The program lasts from 12 to 18 months.

According to a study conducted on the San Bernardino Drug Court program,
program graduates were far less likely to be rearrested for drug offenses,
Morris said.

"It's a common-sense approach and the benefits are tremendous," said Molina
spokesman Miguel Santana. "It's a good example of government working."