MARTIN TO GIVE PARENTS IN COURT WAY TO KEEP KIDS

STUART - A Martin County circuit judge is about to give bad parents a new
option: Quit booze and drugs and you might keep your kids.

The result of a county health official's creative grant writing and Circuit
Judge Steven Levin's frustration with the status quo, "dependency drug
court" will put Martin County on the cutting edge of judicial reform.

"This is a completely different animal," said Anita Cocoves, health and
human services administrator for Martin County. "There aren't too many
places in the country that are doing this."

Drug courts sprang up in the 1980s to deal with a wave of addicts who
needed treatment more than a prison bed. Addicts who enter treatment, take
random drug tests and show up regularly in court can avoid prison.

Drug dependency court expands the idea to alcoholic and drug-addicted
parents who are about to lose their parental rights because of allegations
of abuse or neglect.

There are 88 drug courts in Florida. There are only 17 drug dependency
courts. Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties don't
have them.

The program can heal families faster and speed the legal process of
determining whether children should be removed from an abusive home, Levin
said.

"These cases are going to be resolved more quickly because it will let us
know how serious the parents are about helping their child," Levin said.
"The bottom line is the parents are being watched more closely. The whole
goal is to help the child."

Levin is looking for candidates for dependency drug court and hopes to
begin soon weekly meetings with prosecutors, defense attorneys and
Department of Children and Families case managers for drug dependency
court, just as they huddle weekly for regular drug court.

The process usually begins with a child abuse report to the state's
toll-free hot line. If an initial investigation turns up suspected abuse or
neglect, the Department of Children and Families files a "dependency"
petition to place the children under state supervision.

When the parents come to court, Levin will decide whether they are suitable
candidates for drug court, and urge them to volunteer. The road will be
much tougher than a normal dependency case, in which social workers
identify problems and set goals for improvement, but the focus is broader
than treating substance abuse.

In both cases, the court and the department are trying to determine whether
children need to be removed from the home temporarily or permanently. Drug
court gives the state a better idea of a parent's motivation to improve,
officials say.

"It has a little more bite to it. With a case plan, they just have to go to
counseling," said Cathy Buzzolani, drug court director for the 19th
Judicial Circuit that includes Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and
Okeechobee counties.

Drug court defendants are strictly monitored for up to 18 months. They
enroll in treatment programs, either residential or outpatient. They attend
Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They call a court hot
line every evening to see when they get the next of three weekly drug tests.

If they graduate from drug court, their chances of keeping their children
are vastly improved.

Levin and a team of Martin County officials traveled to Miami last week to
witness a drug dependency court in action. Levin was impressed with what he
saw in Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer's drug dependency court.

"It identifies parents whose real underlying problem is substance abuse.
You can't be a good parent if you're smoking crack every night or drinking
three martinis before you get home," Venzer said.

Drug dependency courts claim as much as 80 percent success rate in safely
reunifying families. The University of Miami is tracking Venzer's court,
where 50 parents a year are directed to drug programs, to verify the claims.

In Martin County, parents will be able to take advantage of an about
$240,000 federal Justice Department grant designed to reduce the number of
drug arrests, said Cocoves, who applied for the grant.

"Most of the money will go to pay for treatment," Cocoves said.

Most counties use the money to buy new equipment for the sheriff, Cocoves
said. It took some persuading to convince the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement to agree to a prevention program, she said.

"At first they turned me down. Then I asked to see a supervisor."

The program's promise couldn't be denied, Cocoves said.

"For those cases that are drugs involved, 80 percent of the time, they're
losing their kids," Cocoves said. "Only 37 percent of drug dependency court
cases don't end with reunification."