TEEN DRUG COURT SET FOR GF, FARGO

N.D. Supreme Court Justice Mary Maring Leads Drive To Curb Substance Abuse

A plan to set up juvenile drug courts in Grand Forks and Fargo is nearly
complete.

State Supreme Court Justice Mary Maring has organized a group of judges,
attorneys, juvenile court officers and addiction counselors who, she said,
will create an intense, community-based program designed to curb teen
substance abuse in the Red River Valley's two largest cities.

The program is designed for teens 14 to 17 years old who have committed
nonviolent crimes and show signs of substance abuse, Maring said. The teens
will appear weekly before a judge, undergo intense drug screening and work
with mentors to complete community service hours.

Juvenile drug courts are modeled after adult drug courts, which have
effectively lowered recidivism rates in other cities.

"It's a tough program," Maring said. "It involves a high level of
accountability."

Maring said the program's first priority is to help teens overcome drug and
alcohol abuse.

"Our goal is to get these kids clean," she said.

Current System

Within the current juvenile court system, Maring said, teens with drug and
alcohol problems are usually placed on probation and sometimes don't see a
judge for months. More serious offenders and repeat offenders are often
locked up in juvenile detention centers -- at a cost of $30,000 per year
per child, courtesy of the state.

The new program, Maring said, is a "focused team approach" designed to keep
teen-agers off drugs and out of jail. That means the courts will keep close
tabs on young offenders to make sure they don't fall by the wayside during
probation -- weekly meetings and drug screenings will be mandatory. In
extreme cases, the court will use electronic monitoring devices and hire
professional "trackers" to follow young offenders.

But Maring said juvenile drug courts will not help serious drug offenders
stay out of jail.

"We're not going to create a diversion program for sellers and
manufacturers," she said.

In fact, new juvenile justice laws in North Dakota automatically transfer
serious drug offenders to adult court.

Idea's Origin

Maring was introduced to juvenile drug courts two years ago, when she
attended a national conference that focused on the topic. She organized a
study -- commissioned by the North Dakota Department of Education, the
North Dakota Department of Health, the State's Attorney's Office, the
Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Department of Corrections -- to
determine whether the state needed such a court.

The answer was a definite yes -- especially in Cass County, where the
number of drug offenses doubled in 1998, Maring said.

A Dec. 11 Associated Press story reported that alcohol consumption among
North Dakota teens is higher than the national average, and hasn't changed
in the last four years, according to Dr. Steve McDonough, chief medical
officer for the North Dakota Department of Health.

McDonough said marijuana use is still lower than the national average but
is on the rise in North Dakota.

Findings from the department's Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted last
spring, show that 61 percent of the North Dakota teens surveyed had
consumed alcohol within the 30 days preceding the survey -- 10 percent more
than the national average.

"Drug and alcohol use is increasing among North Dakota's youth," Maring
said. ". . . I think we can do better."

Maring secured federal grant money from the Department of Justice and the
U.S. Attorney General's Office to get the programs started in Grand Forks
and Fargo by spring. And, if the programs are successful, she is going to
ask the state Legislature for additional money in 2001 to start juvenile
drug courts in Bismarck and Minot.

"It's something that all four cities really want, and need" she said.