ANOKA COUNTY METH TREATMENT PROGRAM GETS FUNDING TO REMAIN OPEN

County Comes Up With Cash To Keep Treatment Going

Wendy King hit rock bottom last June. She had relapsed on
methamphetamine after being clean for two years. Dejected, she tried
to take her life.

A threatened Anoka County treatment program, which she credits with
saving her life, got a reprieve itself this month when county leaders
decided to keep it going.

"To think where I was a year ago, living in a hospital not knowing
whether I would live or die," the mother of two said.

"And now, I have it going on."

The county's Enhanced Treatment Program -- which helps mothers hooked
on meth get sober and regain custody of their children -- will stay
afloat, even as state dollars run out this month. Anoka County dipped
into its coffers to keep the program running through December.

"We saw this program as a way to give some of those moms a second
chance and give those kids a second chance," said Anoka County
Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah, who oversees the Human Services Committee.

The treatment program was created three years ago with a state grant
to help mothers addicted to meth win back their lives. The goal is to
help them find jobs and provide the parenting skills they need.

Women are referred to the program through the criminal-justice or
child-protection systems.

Thirty-eight women have completed the program since its inception,
and two more are expected to graduate soon, said its supervisor,
Darcy Holter. There are 15 women enrolled in the program, which
temporarily stopped taking new referrals this spring when there was
doubt over whether it would continue.

The program was started as Anoka County looked for new ways to treat
addictions. A state grant helped cover the cost, which in 2008 was
nearly $287,000.

Women in the program are required to attend three group sessions a
week, submit to two or three random urine drug tests a week, and
attend educational and sober social events. Each woman gets a
personalized plan. Outside support group meetings are required. Over
time, they build a support network, make sober friends and learn
healthy lifestyles.

Social workers laud the program's 60 percent success rate, noting the
difficulties of shedding the meth habit.

This winter, county officials began making preparations to end the
program. But the Anoka County board approved spending $166,000 to
continue it until the end of the year, said Jerry Soma, county health
and human services division manager. The county's proposed 2010
budget also includes money for the program.

There's no guarantee, though, Soma said. Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced
last week about $5 million in reduced county program aid between this
year and next. The county already lost $2.1 million in December.

Worried about losing the program, Anoka County judges asked what
could be done to help save it. The county board considered the
judges' concerns and decided to cover the program's costs, Soma said.

"The program is an absolute lifesaver for these women," said Anoka
County District Judge Jenny Walker Jasper, a self-described
cheerleader for the effort. "There's something about the ability for
women to make meaningful changes in their lives."

This week, the judge received a report about a mother referred to the
program. The mother lost custody of her child and for a time could
have only supervised visits, she said. Now, the mother gets overnight
stays.

"She's really getting her life straightened out," Walker Jasper said.
"And I would have written her off -- no question about it."

The example is not unique.

Since entering the treatment program last summer, King, 43, has
returned to cosmetology school to renew her license and obtained
rental housing, she said.

Her child-protection case successfully closed in March, she said. And
she marked one year of sobriety this past week.

If all goes well, she will graduate from the program at the end of
August.

Without it, King said, "I think I would probably be dead."