DRUG COURT PROGRAM ENCOURAGING FOR TEENS

His parents were at the weary end of their frayed rope 15 months ago when it
seemed that Ryan was headed for more trouble.

Their son -- at 15 an alcoholic, petty criminal, chronic truant and runaway
- -- was facing a year behind bars after thwarting every attempt to control
him at home.

"I would hide his shoes to try to keep him home," his father Mitch said.
"But he'd go right out the bedroom window, a second-story window, and
disappear into the night."

But instead of going tojail that day more than a year ago, Ryan's case was
deferred and he was placed in a new juvenile drug court program. This week,
he and his family were back in court for a celebration instead of a
sentencing.

Ryan, who doesn't want his last name used, and three other Oakland county
teenagers were graduating from the drug court -- a 20-month-old program that
is showing promising results.

It was a moment of triumph for the youngsters and their families.

As part of their graduation, the prosecutor asked the judge to dismiss the
charge that had been pending for each of the youths . And the judge, with a
bang of his gavel, sent the courtroom packed with family and friends into
applause.

For Ryan, now 17, it kept him out of juvenile detention and alcohol free for
the past eight months.

The program is based on a relatively new, nationwide approach to treating
young addicts.

Rather than jail them, drug courts keep them with their families while
ordering intense substance abuse treatment and strict supervision by the
court. Families also undergo counseling, and parents who are addicts -- as
is often the case -- also are ordered into treatment.

In their struggles, they are joined by a team of professionals. Along with
the judge, there are probation officers, social workers, psychologists and
lawyers.

The rules are simple. The young offenders must live at home. They cannot use
drugs or alcohol and must submit to two or three random drug tests a week.
They are in daily contact with a probation officer and must attend school or
work, and go to counseling sessions.

Once a week they go to court, giving the judge a progress report.

For the kids, there are immediate rewards for progress, such as field trips.
And there are quick consequences for relapses, such as community service or
a weekend in custody.

So far, eight of 36 youths have successfully completed the program and an
equal number have dropped out. The next graduation ceremony will be held in
a month .

Despite the heavy commitment of resources, the program is cheaper and,
according to an independent review, more effective than locking them up.

About 14 percent will commit new crimes during the program, the study found,
compared with 70 percent of young addicts in the more conventional court
system.

Taxpayers spend $169 a day -- or $61,685 a year -- to house young drug
addicts in county juvenile facilities, but only $36 a day ($13,000 a year)
to treat a youth in the drug court.

The key to success, say those who run the program, is constant, daily
monitoring, particularly in the early months of rehab.

"We know almost immediately when a kid is 10 minutes late to school," said
Oakland County Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick, who heads the court.

"We're teaching them to be accountable, sometimes for the first times in
their lives," he said.

The kids going into the program have already been in trouble with the law
and are facing time behind bars -- the big stick officials use to convince
them to give rehabilitation a try. The charges against them are pending
while they are in the program.

The charges are dropped for those who graduate.

The participants, ages 14 through 17, are referred by probate court, other
circuit court judges, police and schools. Those with serious mental illness
or a history of violent crime are excluded.

They aren't all success stories. About 27 percent of the kids are dropped in
the first year, many because of repeated drug use.

While the program is too new to track graduates' long-term progress, there
are hopeful indications.

"All I can say is stay clean," said Dan Bunner, 17, who was the first to
graduate from the program in October. "Your life is better that way."