SPECIAL CRIME CALLS FOR SPECIAL COURTS

(Re: Dec. 12 guest column, "Prison not part of solution to drug,
alcohol addiction," by Hal Don House.)

I agree completely!

I am a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children who are involved
in the court system, usually because of parental drug abuse.

Children whose parents abuse alcohol and other drugs are four times
more likely to be neglected and three times likelier to be sexually
or physically assaulted. When families do not receive proper
substance abuse treatment, children are more apt to remain in foster
care longer and re-enter once they have returned home.

Children of substance-abusing parents are more likely to encounter
problems with delinquency, poor school performance, emotional
challenges and hyperactivity than peers whose parents do not abuse.

But instead of handling addicted parents in the criminal courts, with
the possibility of jail time (which does not help their children),
many states are turning to family treatment courts or family drug
courts.

In recent years, dozens of such courts have sprouted across the
nation to address the substance-abuse issues that decimate many
families. In these courts, parents in recovery can have regular
contact with their children while their progress is closely monitored.

Rehabilitation for parents is less expensive and more productive than
jail or prison time, and allowing children to maintain contact with
their parents under closely monitored conditions is less expensive
than placing them in overloaded foster care programs.

A recent large-scale study funded by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services showed that family treatment courts are more
successful than traditional dependence courts in helping
substance-abusing parents complete treatment and reunite with their
children.

NANCY FORD

Amarillo