STATE DRUG COURTS SHOULD BE PRESERVED

The success that drug courts have had around Kentucky helping people
turn their lives around has been well-documented.

But anyone who needed further convincing should have visited Daviess
Circuit Judge Tom Castlen's courtroom Monday. That's where 14 local
residents -- who otherwise may have been in jail -- were instead
recognized as the sixth graduating class of the Daviess County Drug
Court.

Fourteen residents -- who the odds say were likely headed for a life
bouncing in and out of the criminal justice system -- are instead on a
path to reclaiming their lives, substance free. All now are employed,
and five are enrolled in college or technical school classes. One even
received a college athletic scholarship.

But the chance that other drug offenders will get a similar
opportunity in coming years is in doubt. Like many other important
projects in Kentucky, drug courts may fall by the wayside because
there isn't enough money to keep them going.

To this point, drug courts have been funded, for the most part, by
federal grants from the U.S. Department of Justice. But those grants
were only intended as start-up money, and the financial burden is
expected to largely shift to the states by summer. Daviess County is
among the courts funded by a grant that is set to expire.

The good news is that Gov. Ernie Fletcher has not only pledged to
support drug courts, he's said he wants to expand the program into all
120 Kentucky counties.

The bad news is that to do so would cost at least $18 million. And
just to keep existing programs afloat will cost about $15 million. As
many already know, this isn't the most ideal time to be asking for
dollars from Frankfort.

But this is an investment the state must find a way to
make.

Consider that about four of every 10 drug addicts who spend time in
jail will be re-arrested at some time in their lives. But for those
who successfully complete the drug court program, the re-arrest rate
is about 2 percent.

On average, it costs about $3,000 to put a person through drug court.
But to house a prisoner at the Green River Correctional Complex in
Muhlenberg County, the cost is more than $14,000 per year, and the
average yearly cost of incarceration at state prisons is more than
$17,000 per inmate.

The new administration in Kentucky has said it is committed to
combating substance abuse in Kentucky, both at the enforcement and
treatment levels. Drug courts would seem to fit that mission perfectly
- -- offering treatment to those who accept help in beating their
addiction, and jail to those who don't.

Kentucky must look hard for ways to find funding for drug courts.
Otherwise, saving money today will only end up costing us more -- both
financially and socially -- in the future.