REPORT SUPPORTS LONG-TERM CENTER FOR DRUG TREATMENT

Establishing a long-term treatment facility for addicts at the
Guilford County prison farm could help solve a "big and growing"
local drug problem, a new report from a substance-abuse group states.

The facility could be modeled after similar rehab programs in Durham
and Charlotte that get funding from foundations, individuals and other sources.

Its development would change an approach to local drug abuse that has
been "fragmented and only of marginal impact," the Guilford County
Substance Abuse Coalition said in a report produced after nine months of study.

"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," said county commissioner
Melvin "Skip" Alston, a Democrat who for years has pushed for a
long-term treatment facility.

Alston, along with other Guilford commissioners, heard the
coalition's presentation Thursday. The coalition is a collection of
citizens and 43 organizations associated with alcohol and drug
treatment. Its report came after a News & Record series in November
2004 that detailed the county's 20-year battle with crack cocaine.

Public Hearing Set

Guilford County commissioners will consider giving economic
incentives to Greensboro chip-maker RF Micro Devices. Commissioners
emerged from a closed session Thursday to set a Feb. 16 public
hearing on the matter.

Voting machines OK'd

Commissioners approved touch-screen voting machines Thursday for
upcoming elections, upsetting supporters of a paper-based voting system.

About the machines. They are similar to those the county has used for
years. Voters will pick candidates by touching their fingers to a
computer screen. A visible paper roll will record the votes as the
voter casts them, a feature a new state law requires.

What's next. The county needs to purchase the machines soon so
they'll be in place for the May primary. Grant money will cover most
of the initial $2.9 million cost.

Voting Centers Rejected

Commissioners unanimously turned down a plan to ask the General
Assembly to approve a system in which voters could cast ballots at
any open precinct on Election Day.The inside scoop Talk of a
drug-treatment facility at the Gibsonville prison farm has drawn
support from some commissioners, who would need to sign off any plans
to convert part of the 800-acre tract.

The farm is the only possible site mentioned in the report, but it
did say another "underutilized" facility could work.

No prices were included in any of the recommendations, but plenty of
numbers could be found in the report.

Among them were that more people used illegal drugs, alcohol and
tobacco in 2002-03 than in 2001.

The report comes as the county plans for a new $70 million to $100
million jail in downtown Greensboro, a massive project that could
create more debt and drive up property taxes.

Guilford also faces payment on $500 million in school-construction
bonds over the next two decades. Those financial concerns weigh on
the commissioners as they consider the possibility of funding a new
drug-treatment program.

Commissioners offered little comment on the report Thursday, but
asked that more specific information be presented at their February retreat.

Not mentioned in the report was Alcohol and Drug Services, a High
Point program that serves low-income addicts who can't afford private
treatment.

A report from consultant Jim Van Hecke, which was rolled into the
coalition's findings, said the treatment program had too many unused beds.

ADS says government regulations control who is admitted to the
facility and for how long.

However, the coalition's report did refer to an "underutilization of
existing treatment facilities."

The coalition was careful to say it didn't seek to solve the crowding
that has plagued the county's jail system for years.

But drugs and jails are linked.

In a survey the report mentioned, more than 60 percent of inmates
said they had substance-abuse problems. About 89 percent said they
were in jail on a substance-abuse-related arrest.

One program considered a model for drug treatment is Durham's
Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, or TROSA.

There, hundreds of substance abusers receive counseling, health care,
job training and education assistance. They also work jobs in
money-making ventures that support TROSA, including a masonry
business and a catering company.

The report's initial recommendation was to be the "convener" that
brings community representatives together to discuss solutions to the problem.

Other strategies mentioned:

* Hire case managers under the Guilford Center, the county's mental
health agency, or another provider. Funding could come from the
controversial Inmate Welfare Fund, which is paid for by inmates'
telephone calls home and sales at the jail canteens.

* Develop a single entry point into the substance-abuse treatment system.

* Establish an "endowment" that could cover state and federal funding
shortfalls for substance-abuse programs.

"There's got to be linkages between different groups and different
organizations, the whole gamut, for this to work," commissioner Paul
Gibson said.