JUVENILE DRUG COURTS MAKING VITAL HEADWAY

A popular boy's promising life ends in a tragic automobile accident after a
teen-age drinking party. Four teen-agers on drugs vandalize a church and
dozens of cars and homes. A star student athlete drives drunk and forfeits
her chance to play in the state tournament.

We are confronted continually by such troubling evidence of a serious
problem in our community and nation -- an alarming incidence of drug and
alcohol abuse by our young people.

As a prosecutor, I am deeply concerned about this issue. We need to find
more effective ways of addressing it. That is why I am excited about a town
meeting Wednesday at which community leaders and chemical dependency
experts will tackle this troubling topic as part of a broader discussion of
addiction.

The conversation will center on Bill Moyers' national outreach campaign and
PBS series ``Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home,'' which began Sunday and
ends tonight. William Cope Moyers, director of public policy at Hazelden,
will moderate the Wednesday town meeting at KTCA-TV in St. Paul.

One of the episodes in the Moyers series is titled ``The Next Generation''
and focuses on the chemical dependency problems of our children.

Statistics on alcohol and drug abuse by teen-agers underscore the magnitude
of the problem. Here are just a few examples:

Between 1993 and 1997, juvenile arrests for drug violations in St. Paul
increased 113 percent. Around the country, juvenile arrests for drug
violations increased 120 percent between 1992 and 1996.

Juvenile arrest rates for alcohol-related crimes in the United States
increased 29 percent between 1995 and 1996.

Among the graduating class of 1996, 51 percent of students had used an
illegal drug by the time they reached their senior year of high school,
according to the University of Michigan's national Monitoring the Future
Study. That same study said 31 percent of 12th-graders reported being drunk
in the past month.

In Ramsey County, 17 percent of ninth-graders reported using alcohol at
least monthly, according to the 1995 Minnesota Student Survey conducted by
the state Children, Families and Learning Department. Nearly 14 percent of
ninth-graders reported using marijuana at least once a month.

The Ramsey County attorney's office reviewed 335 felony or misdemeanor drug
cases involving juveniles in 1997, a 33 percent increase over the previous
year. Our juvenile prosecutors reviewed 417 petty misdemeanor drug cases
(involving a small amount of marijuana) in 1997, a 53 percent increase over
1996. Cases involving liquor consumption by minors totaled 709, a 12
percent increase over the previous year.

As troubling as these numbers are, they do not reflect the terrible human
toll of drug and alcohol abuse. That story must be told in terms of lost
lives; grieving families and children who suffer from depression; school
failure or truancy; family strife; and other signs of risk for chemical
dependency.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by this problem. At times it seems to defy
solutions. I am encouraged, however, by a movement that is sweeping the
country.

During the past year or two, juvenile drug courts have been established in
17 states, with many more in the planning stage. These jurisdictions have
looked to the experiences of adult drug courts to find more effective ways
of dealing with the increasing population of young substance abusers. The
movement has been encouraged by a federal Drug Court Grant Program.

To date, there are no juvenile drug courts in Minnesota. It is time,
however, to consider this new approach in Ramsey County.

Juvenile drug courts have two primary goals -- to get the young offenders
off drugs and alcohol and to reduce their future criminal involvement.
Early results have been very positive, with judges reporting a remarkable
and sustained turnaround by juveniles who faced the likelihood of
escalating drug and alcohol abuse and criminal activity.

Observers say this new concept is working because it allows much more
aggressive supervision of juvenile offenders than the traditional court
process provides.

Juvenile drug courts immediately intervene in the lives of children who use
drugs or alcohol or who are exposed to substance addiction through their
family members. These courts use a variety of strategies, such as:

Earlier and more comprehensive intervention by the court.

Greater focus on the juvenile's family throughout the process.

Greater coordination among the court, the treatment community, the school
system, community agencies, faith communities, businesses and other
organizations.

More active and continuous judicial supervision of the juvenile's case and
treatment.

Increased and immediate consequences for juveniles who do not comply with
the treatment program, and incentives for those who do.

I am particularly hopeful that a juvenile drug court in Ramsey County would
help us address the problem of underage drinking. This situation has
reached distressing proportions, and the old approaches clearly are not
working.

As we seek new solutions,the ``Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home'' series
and our related town meeting offer an excellent springboard. Let's watch
and act.