PARISH KICKS OFF DRUG COURT

VIDALIA, La. -- In Louisiana, where you'll find drug courts mostly in urban
areas, the Seventh Judicial District Court has started the state's first
rural juvenile drug court.

Starting with a $7,500 grant from the Rapides Foundation to travel to other
courts around the state and to conferences for training, the drug court was
in the planning stages in December, said District Judge Kathy Johnson.

In court Friday, Johnson heard many truancy cases, the beginning of the
drug court process in Concordia Parish.

The drug court will be funded by the Louisiana Supreme Court through the
end of June.

Johnson said the drug court will target students who are truant, a
situation usually caused by drugs or alcohol, she said. The court also will
target students with behavior problems.

"Placing someone in our drug court will not necessarily mean they are drug
dependent but that they have done something with drugs," said Keith Baker,
a licensed clinical social worker who is working with Johnson and is
currently employed at the parish's correctional facility.

"Eighty-five percent of all people incarcerated are because of drugs or
alcohol," Baker said. The theory behind juvenile drug court is to catch
such problems early, he said.

Once a juvenile fails a drug test, he enters the drug court and is placed
in a treatment plan tailored just for him. Treatment may last three or four
or even six months.

The juvenile will receive counseling and will be assigned a probation
officer to make sure the student follows the court's orders. There will be
a curfew in place for each juvenile as well as random drug screenings.

The probation officer will make sure the student is going to school,
meeting curfew, getting treatment and complying with court orders.

Juveniles will report to court every other week for updates on their
progress. There will be positive -- and negative -- sanctions for obeying
- -- or disobeying -- court orders, Johnson said.

Families will be involved in the court appearances as well as in counseling.

For any juveniles sentenced to an overnight stay, the Concordia Parish
Sheriff's Office is building a probation revocation center that will have
two beds to service juveniles, but it will not be built and operational for
a while.

Now, juveniles must go to facilities in Coushatta or St. James.

Johnson asked the school board and Superintendent Kerry Laster in December
to start a committee to work with the court on issues of truancy,
behavioral problems and drug use.

Laster said the committee will serve as a liaison between the court and
schools. Johnson hopes the committee can help the court identify students
with truancy and behavior problems.

"They can help us and we can help them," Johnson said.

If students are caught with drugs at school, it means an automatic two-year
expulsion under Louisiana law. However, if the parish has a drug court in
place, the student can be put in the alternative school and go to drug
court instead of missing two years of school.

Laster worked to put together a committee consisting of 12 people from the
schools, central office staff, the school board and the ministerial
alliance. Members include:

- -Jana Lincecum, assistant principal at Vidalia High School.

- -Dorothy Parker, principal at Ferriday Junior High School.

- -Mary Tarver, district supervisor of special populations.

- -Valencia Hall.

- -Clarence Hymon, district coordinator of drug-free schools program.

- -Howard Jackson, district supervisor for child welfare and attendance.

- -The Rev. Johnnie Brown, minister and school board member.

- -The Rev. Eugene Williams of the ministerial alliance.

- -Martha Rabb, school board member.

- -Brenda Moore, assistant principal of Ferriday Upper Elementary School.

- -Laster.

Drug court personnel will go into schools to teach students about the
effect of drugs. The approach will be different than that of the DARE
program in that it will target older students. DARE works to reach younger
students.

Johnson and Baker said the court will have equipment to do brain scans that
can be used to teach students the effects of drugs on the brain, comparing
a brain of a drug user to a non-drug user.

"You know you can talk to them and tell them what it will do," Johnson
said, but the pictures, she thinks, will get their attention.

"The approach is from a factual point of view instead of, say, an emotional
point of view," Baker said.

Baker said they want inmates in the parish facilities to give testimonials
to the juveniles about the consequences of drugs.

Baker said in the adult population, 82 percent of criminals are likely to
commit a crime again if they are not treated for drug and alcohol
dependency. But, with treatment, that goes down to 19 percent.

The ultimate goal is not to see the juveniles in court again.

Baker and Johnson said they want the community to be aware of the program
and to know the drug court can help.

Also mentors and other volunteers are needed. Businesses can support the
court by giving donations to be used in a reward system to motivate the
juveniles to obey court orders.

But the main thing the public can do is tell those in need about the court
so juveniles can receive treatment to keep them from becoming adult offenders.