DRUG COURT PROGRAM OFFERS SECOND CHANCE

the Option Is to Get Clean or Go to Jail, and Many Are Finding They Can Succeed

The man, let's just call him David, walks up to the microphone, puts
his hands in his front pockets and rocks back and forth on his heels
as he speaks to the judge.

The judge asks about the man's work, his wife and life in general. The
men laugh at David's jokes and chit-chat about his daughter needing
help with her vocabulary homework.

The conversation is fairly easy, but there is obviously an elephant in
the room. David recently got out of a four-month stretch in a regional
punishment facility, a cross between a halfway house and prison.

He is facing up to a decade in prison if he tests positive for drugs
again. This is his last chance in the 17th Judicial District Drug
Court and says he will stay clean for the rest of the program.

"There is no doubt that I will," he says after his weekly court
appearance. "I didn't like 120 days (in RPF) and I know I am not going
to like 10 years (in prison)."

David, whose real name is being withheld to protect his privacy, is
one of eight White County "clients" currently participating in the
drug court, an intensive drug treatment program being offered by
judicial districts across the state.

The program mixes group therapy and individual counseling with regular
drug testing to try to give the drug addict as much support as
possible kicking the addiction. If completed, the client will have the
related charge expunged from his or her record.

Similar programs have worked well in other parts of Arkansas and
around the country. Recidivism rates as high as 50 percent drop to 4
percent for people who complete a drug court program.

The Program

The drug court system in Arkansas started as a pilot program in Little
Rock in 1993. That program showed promise and the legislature funded
the formation of similar drug courts around the state in 2003.

Each judicial district was given the opportunity to start a drug court
program, and all but a few did. The 17th Judicial District began its
program in November 2003.

Each district has a "drug court team" consisting of a judge, probation
officials, a drug counselor and an area supervisor. The team meets
with its clients at least once a week initially, then relaxes that
schedule as the program progresses.

Prosecutors make an initial assessment of a possible drug court
participant, examining case files to determine if a defendant is
eligible for drug court. The prosecutor's office looks at the
defendant's crime, its circumstances and his or her criminal history.

Deputy Prosecutor Rebecca Reed said the program is designed to help
people whose addiction has led to a life of crime.

"When we get the case files of people who have been arrested for
felony hot checks or breaking and entering, the underlying problem
might be an addiction," Reed said. "People who recreationally smoke
dope on the weekends are not who we look for."

An average drug court client is a first time offender arrested for a
non-violent crime, although Judge Craig Hannah said the program could
accept a person with a previous record. However, Hannah said, that
person cannot have been charged or convicted for any violent offense,
sex crime or drug manufacturing or distribution.

They have to have transportation, to be able to meet everyday either
in court or with the drug court team. They must have a high school
diploma or be willing to work toward a graduation equivalency diploma.
And they also must be employed or be willing to become employed.

Hannah said an understanding employer helps, because he or she must
give their employee time to complete the drug court requirements. It
is a major commitment, and an employer has to be willing to work with
the offender.

Some drug clients have even needed to find other employment so they
can live up to their end of the drug court bargain, according to
Department of Community Correction Area Three Manager Jim Nance.

Nance oversees drug courts in White, Independence and Prairie counties
and said all of the program's requirements are laid out for the
offender before he or she can make the decision to be part of the drug
court. Once they are in the program, they must comply with all of its
rules and requirements or risk going to prison.

"They have to make that decision on the front end with their lawyer,"
Nance said. "There is no choice but to follow the program."

If the offender decides to go forward with the drug court, they are
sent to a drug counselor for screening to determine if they are the
right fit for the program. Drug Counselor Susan Hathcote gives the
potential client a written assessment and talks with them about their
substance abuse history.

"(The assessment) tells us if that person can hack the program," Nance
explained.

If Hathcote determines the offender is an addict and believes they are
willing to tough out the program, he or she is allowed in, assuming,
of course, that the prosecutor's office and judge agree.

"There is some subjectivity to it," Hannah said. "Sometimes, we don't
feel like a person can complete the program after just talking to them."

But for those who make it into drug court, the work is just
beginning.

The person must plead guilty to his or her charges in court. They can
then be transferred to drug court. The offender's sentence is withheld
pending the completion of drug court. If the person completes drug
court, the charge is expunged from the record.

For those people who do not complete drug court, the program acts as
if probation has been violated. The people are then sentenced to time,
possibly in the state penitentiary.

"It's a fast track to prison if you are not willing to give up the
drugs," Nance said.

Drug court probation officer Tiffany Jackson supervises the clients
throughout the program. She makes unannounced home visits, during
which the client's residence may be searched. And she works with the
other drug court members to administer regular drug testing.

Hannah and the drug court team typically meets every Monday to discuss
the various cases to see if anyone has been having problems in the
program. And then the judge talks to the clients in court.

"If they have a problem, then we will address that problem," Hannah
said. "If they have violated a rule, then we will address that."

The level of a client's participation and progress in the program
determines how long it lasts, but it lasts at least a year.

The program is divided into four phases with the first being the most
intense.

"As you graduate to the different phases, it gets easier," Hannah
said.

He explained that in phase 1, the program focuses on "educating
clients about the disease of addiction and living a chemical-free lifestyle."

Phase 2 concentrates on "the development of moral reasoning and
enhancing self-image to promote personal growth."

Phase 3 focuses on "enhancing and developing daily living skills.
Participants will also develop skills to help them communicate more
effectively with other people in society through identifying and
resolving emotions encountered in the recovery process."

During Phase 4, the participant is taught relapse prevention skills
and "is required to develop a working relapse prevention plan that
will allow him/her to manage obstacles that may hinder sobriety."

After graduating from the program, the client is monitored in a
follow-up period of about six months. And during that time the
graduate assists and supports current participants.

Of course, along with the carrot of a potentially clean record and
sober life, there is the stick of the "four strike system."

"Our system is a four strike system and after the fourth strike, you
are out of drug court," Hannah said.

The range of punishment for the first strike is typically a weekend in
jail. The second is up to 15 days in jail. The third strike sends
people to a regional punishment facility - where David spent time -
for 40-90 days. With a fourth strike, the person is sentenced for the
crime they pleaded guilty to, usually to prison time.

"We have to have pretty bright lines, so that everyone knows what they
can and cannot do," he said. "There has to be a lot of structure to
it."

He said that everyone knows what the rules are, so there are no
questions if they have broken a rule. Hannah said one person has
struck out since the local program was started. He was sentenced to
six years.

"I hope that while he is down in the penitentiary, that he will get
some treatment and maybe get over his problem," he said.

The Clients

David said he doubts that programs in prison or on probation would
have worked for him.

"Without them making me stay off (of drugs), there is no reason for me
to quit," he said before reconsidering his answer. "Well, there are a
lot of reasons for me to quit, but I wouldn't have."

David, like many of the drug court clients, is a methamphetamine
addict. He was busted for possession and entered drug court shortly
after it was formed. He is now in phase 2 and said he is working hard
to stay clean.

He lost four months of the program to RPF time after his third strike,
a mistake he cannot make again without more serious repercussions. He
said he really wants to stay clean.

That is a big draw for many of the drug court's clients, according to
Hathcote. She said they see the program as a real chance to quit an
addictive life.

"People want to come here because it is intensive treatment," she
said. "This is their choice."

Another client, who we will call John, said he made that choice
because he wanted to kick his habit after 30 years of drug use.

"If I was on probation, I would still be using," John said, "(On
probation) you can just clean up for a week, get tested and then go on
about your business."

He said that because of the regular testing, there is not the
opportunity to do that in this program, and he is thankful for that.
He said that when he was using he was a selfish person and the program
has given him ways to be unselfish.

"They are giving us the tools to live on life's terms," he said with a
smile.

Drug court clients are required to attend three Narcotics Anonymous
meetings a week. John said he attends about six.

He admits that he has fallen down in the program. He has two strikes
against him. But he said the program has taught him to focus on the
future and on avoiding his third strike.

Dan, whose real name is also being withheld, has done comparatively
better than John. Now in phase three, Dan has no strikes against him
and now has a more relaxed court visitation schedule.

He said it has been difficult, but he has been clean for seven months
and has a new perspective on life.

"Being clean has been a buzz," he said. "I like it."

The Cost

Still, despite stories like Dan's, the drug court is having trouble
attracting clients.

"We have had a lot of trouble getting people in," Hannah said. "A lot
of people look at this and say, 'I can go to my regular probation and
meet with my probation officer once a month. It is random drug tests
and it is a lot easier to do.' They don't see the other side of it,
the rehabilitative side. We are providing them with thousands of
dollars of free treatment."

Hannah said the drug court should have a full 60-person
program

"I am a little discouraged because of the numbers," he said. "I think
we should have more people in the program."

He said he has talked to other judges though, and they have told him
the White County numbers are common.

Aside from finding an employer who will work with the drug court, one
possible hindrance to participation is a $600 fee charged to the
program's clients and $45 in monthly court and probation fees

But Hannah and Nance both said those fees can be deferred or worked
off.

Nance said the clients can do community service to pay for the program
if they need to.

"We're not going to make cost an issue if that is the only thing
holding them back," Nance said.

Hannah said that while the $600 charge goes to help fund the program,
"it is just a drop in the bucket" compared with the costs of running
it. The payback, he said, will come with lower prison costs now and
fewer repeat offenders in the future.

"That was one of the reasons that the state passed it - the
overcrowding of the jails," he said. "We are helping people and not
just locking them up."

He said the monetary difference in incarceration and treatment show
why the program should be used. It costs about $30-$40 a day to
incarcerate someone. It costs only about $5 a day for treatment.

"It is definitely cheaper than sending them to jail," he said. "And if
our statistics hold true, it should help with our jail overcrowding.
If we have only 3-4 percent who graduate to come back into the system,
that will help a lot."

And for the other 96-97 percent, it could help a lot more.