COUNTY DRUG COURT STARTED

In the years Rayburn "Rim" Nall has been on the bench in the 59th state
District Court, he has sentenced hundreds of people to jail or prison
because of drug-or alcohol-related crimes.

Now, he is working on a program designed to treat as well as punish those
who are involved in drug-or alcohol-related crimes. Nall and a team of
prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment providers, probation officials
and law enforcement officers have started the county's first drug court.

Statistics on the National Association of Drug Court Professionals Web
site, show that drug courts accomplish what few other programs for dealing
with drug offenders can claim - they work.

The site reports that the average rate of re-offending, called recidivism,
is between 4 and 29 percent for those who complete a drug court program,
compared with 48 percent for those who do not participate in a drug court
program.

Numbers like those led Nall to push for a local drug court. That push
resulted in the formation of Grayson County's new Substance Abuse Recovery
and Treatment program. The program is designed to hold offenders
accountable for their criminal behavior while helping them overcome their
drug or alcohol addictions and other problems. The intensive probation
program will offer rewards to those who succeed and consequences for those
who don't.

That, Nall readily admits, is a tall order for any program. It's also a
hard thing to explain to a lay person.

So, he started pitching the program to those who are keenly interested in
the issue - the local criminal defense bar.

Nall told the group the team approach is one thing that he likes about
Grayson County's new STAR program because it gets everyone on the same page
as they attempt to help the participant complete the program.

But not everyone who wants into the program will get in. People with
violent backgrounds or those who are charged with serious drug
manufacturing or trafficking crimes will not be eligible. Even those
without that background will have to be allowed into the program by a
committee set up to screen the applicants and monitor their progress.
People can be referred to the program by their attorneys.

Those who want into the program must have pleaded guilty to any charges
pending. However, Nall pointed out that the plea can involve deferred
adjudication agreements which, upon successful completion of the program,
could leave the participant with a clean record.

There must be a strong showing that the participant's legal problems stem
primarily from an alcohol or drug problem. Once in the program, the work
begins. A team of people including prosecutors, defense attorneys,
treatment providers, law enforcement officers and, probation officers will
monitor the person to make sure he or she is complying with the
requirements of the program.

Those requirements include total abstinence from all drugs and alcohol,
following treatment plans set out by treatment providers, appearing in
court as scheduled, getting and keeping a job. STAR Court participants will
have to attend a court session on the second and fourth Mondays of each
month at 4 p.m. At least for the first four months a person is in the
program, he or she will have to attend every one of those court sessions.
Nall said some people who succeed with the program might have to report
less frequently as they move through the program.

He said the program will last, for most people, between 12 and 18 months.
During that time, the participants move through several different phases.
The first of which help participants work toward a drug and alcohol free
life and establish a firm foundation for abstinence. To advance to the
second level of the program, a participant must attend the required court
sessions, report to the case manager as required, participate in required
treatment and group support sessions and remain abstinent from drugs and
alcohol.

In phase II, the participant will continue to be stabilized in treatment
and start confronting underlying issues surrounding his or her addiction.
That phase also seeks to motivate the participant to change his or her
behavior. In phase III of the program, the participant continues to try to
rise to the challenge of living a life of recovery and meet the challenges
of self-sufficiency. That phase also concentrates on the participate taking
responsibility for his or her own actions. The next stage, Nall told the
group, is graduation from the program.

The program is not inexpensive, but for now, it's being supported out of
the Grayson County Probation Department's budget. Dennis Cowig, head of
that department, said grants to help pay for the program are being sought.
It's hoped, Nall said, that the program will eventually cost the county
less as fewer jail beds are required to house people with drug and alcohol
problems.

The program is just starting in Grayson County, Nall told those at the
meeting, but it has had tremendous success in other areas of the country.