DRUG COURT GETS $1.18 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT

Knox County Drug Court got a much-needed shot in the arm Monday in the form
of $1.18 million in federal grant money that may ultimately help the program
triple the number of clients it serves.

When U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. presented the grant to a packed assembly
room in the City County Building, he pointed out that Knox County is one of
only 11 grant recipients out of more than 1,200 drug courts across the
nation.

"I think that really is an amazing statistic," said Duncan, R-Knoxville.

Knox County's program started in 1999 and focuses on getting nonviolent
offenders with substance-abuse problems into treatment, according to
Director Ron Hanaver.

Court hearings are presided over by Judge Tony Stansberry at the General
Sessions Court level and Richard Baumgartner at the Criminal Court level.

Baumgartner said the program has been successful. He said 26 people have
graduated from the program since its inception and are now "supporting their
families, paying taxes and aren't in the criminal justice system."

"We believe the reason they're in the system is because their criminal
activity is fueled by their drug addiction," Baumgartner said. "It (the
program) protects the community."

Stansberry said the grant money could be used to expand the court's client
base to between 100 and 125 people. He also praised Duncan's efforts at
winning the grant funds for Knox County.

"If it wasn't for the great efforts (of Duncan and his staff), we wouldn't
be here today," he said.

Clients must undergo either intensive outpatient counseling or stay in a
halfway house, Hanaver said, and they are required to submit to as many as
three drug screens a week.

According to statistics provided by the drug court, the average cost of
treating a drug addict is $4,800 a year, while it costs about $17,958 to
incarcerate them.