JUVENILE DRUG COURT HONORS 1ST GRADUATES PROGRAM

gives offenders chance to succeed

Three teen-age boys with criminal histories walked into Forsyth District
Court yesterday, not to face more charges but rather to stand proudly in
front of family and friends who were there to applaud their accomplishments.

The boys are the first graduates of a year-old program that works with
juvenile offenders and their parents to get youths off drugs and help them
stay in school.

"It doesn't get any better than this," said Judge William Reingold, who
presided over the ceremony. "We clean them up, give them some structure so
that they can move forward in their lives. It sends the message that we're
not going to abandon them."

The Forsyth County Juvenile Treatment Court began in January 2003 with
support from a three-year grant of more than $300,000 from the U.S.
Department of Justice, said Gene Williams, the program's director. That
amounts to roughly $109,000 each year to cover administrative costs and the
salaries of Williams and the program's case coordinator. The other members
of the program's "team," including Reingold, are not paid.

The program began with four participants - the three boys who graduated
yesterday and a girl who is expected to graduate from the program in June.

Offenders have to be between the ages of 13 and 151/2 at the time they enter
the program and are expected to participate for 12 to18 months.

"They've committed a crime, and I give them the opportunity to be in this
program," Reingold said. "But they have to really want it.... It's a huge
effort."

The teen-agers are nonviolent offenders who have used illegal drugs and have
pleaded guilty to an offense in juvenile court, leading to probation.

Participants must be screened for drugs twice a week, attend treatment court
the first and third Wednesdays of every month and are subject to unannounced
probation visits at home.

It works by rewarding participants for their successes and for sanctioning
them for failing to meet the program requirements, Williams said.

The three graduates in last night's ceremony received gift bags full of such
rewards as gift certificates for Hanes Mall, movie theaters, McDonald's and
bowling, and memberships to the YWCA. In addition, all three had their
probation sentences dropped.

The beauty of the program, said Williams, is that officials are not bound by
specific guidelines for handling cases and behavior.

Instead, team members can look for innovative approaches to deal with the
individual needs of participants.

In all, 21 juvenile offenders have participated in the program since it
began. Nine were terminated for reasons ranging from pregnancy to becoming
involved in criminal activity, Williams said.

"Some kids don't make it," he said. "We need the families to buy into it,
and if they don't accept the terms we won't take them. Why waste their time
if they truly don't want to be here?" he said.

And though the family members of the first three graduates said that the
program was tough and often intrusive, the words were spoken through smiles
and eyes full of pride.

"My son's back," said Tammy Baugus, the mother of graduate Travis Baugus,
16. "He's totally different. He eats at the table with us again and
participates in our lives. He's like he was a year and a half ago."

Travis entered the program nine months ago, after being caught with
marijuana and a 40-ounce beer at school, Tammy Baugus said.

"I was one of those stupid moms who says, 'Not my son,'" said Baugus, who
had to take a leave from work to meet the demands of the program, including
court appearances and escorting him to drug tests. "Me and my car are very
happy it's all over."

Graduates typically have to be in the program for a year before being
considered for graduation, but Travis graduated early because of his model
behavior. From the beginning, Travis passed all of his 50 drug tests and
didn't receive a single sanction for noncompliance, officials with the
program said.

Another success story is that of graduate Hiram (RJ) Goins, 15, whose
father, Hiram Goins Sr., said he is more disciplined since entering the
program.

"He seems to obey better and pays attention to detail," Goins said. "He went
through some things to get to this point, though. They started out sweet,
taking him to basketball games and things, but then it got real hectic, like
the whole family was on probation. Now I see that it has made a big
difference in his life and I'm thankful that the judge was so hard on him."

Goins also said he has noticed that his son carries himself differently now
and exudes a sense of pride in himself that he didn't have before.

"I was tired of picking up our newspaper or watching TV and seeing our young
people being hurt or killed," Reingold said. "I'm proud of the kids who have
chosen to be in this program, who are fighting and who are on their way to
this position (graduation). They all have the ability to do it, if only we
demand it of them."