JUVENILE DRUG COURT FUNDS SHORT

Officials Look To Replace Federal Money Or Revise Treatment Program

Federal grant funding for Blount County's Juvenile Drug Court program dries
up this fall.

Court officers and members of the Juvenile Drug Court team now face
the task of reaching out to community partners such as businesses,
churches and other treatments, who can help raise funds.

Blount County Drug Court Program Director Theresa Irwin said the
juvenile drug court team meets July 26 to discuss funding options, the
scope of the program and what revisions to make to the program.

The Tennessee Drug Court Treatment Act of 2003 aims to divert adult
and juvenile ``chemically-dependent'' non-violent offenders into
rehabilitative programs to reduce drug abuse and drug-related crimes.

Blount County's Juvenile Drug Court Program is one of only a handful
in Tennessee, according to Blount County Juvenile Judge Terry Denton
and Irwin.

Some others include Knox, Cumberland and Rutherford Counties. Putnam
County had the first juvenile drug court program in the state, but it
folded, Irwin said.

Blount County's team will have to look at ``what we think is going to
work best for our families and kids,'' said Irwin in a Tuesday interview.

A $450,000 grant through the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance funded
the program's operation from 2003 to present. The county was awarded
the grant in 2002 and began taking juveniles through the program in
June 2003.

Eighty-seven juveniles used the program between Oct. 1, 2004, and June
30, 2005. Recently, the juvenile drug court had four graduates.

Juveniles go through one of two tracks, attending counseling, group
sessions and receiving drug screens. The program aims to keep families
together, so Denton, court officer Amanda May and other members of the
drug court team work closely with juveniles and their parents. The
Blount County District Attorney's Office also has members on the drug
court team.

For kids with families wrestling with addiction issues, treatment can
be a complicated process.

``We're dealing with the whole family,'' said Denton.

And that means it's important to have the help of the family during
all phases of the program, he said.

``We only see the kids so many hours a week,'' Denton said. ``We're so
dependent on the family's follow-up.''

Irwin said the Blount County Drug Court program can't do its own
private fund-raising because of state law. The juvenile drug court
program can seek grants to replace the funding that runs out this year.

For the fiscal year 2004-2005, which ended July 1, the Blount County
Juvenile Drug Court Program was appropriated $220,527.

This marks the end of the second year of the juvenile drug court
program as well, leaving drug court team members to re-evaluate the
program, according to Irwin. They will review its strengths and
weaknesses, its successes and its failures.

When the county first got the grant, the juvenile drug court had hoped
to continue the program later with a grant through Edward Byrne
Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, a federal program.

But the available funding they sought was ``zeroed out'' this year,
said Irwin.