MORE CLIENTS MEAN LESS ATTENTION

Having more clients than budgeted in the county's felony Drug Court program
has generated concern that a steady increase will strain the project's
resources and, some say, ultimately hurt its track record for helping drug
offenders.

The higher numbers come at a time when programs like Drug Court could see
even more people because of legislation aimed at getting habitual
prostitutes into drug treatment programs. The bill enables third-time
offenders to be offered court-supervised pretrial intervention or a
substance-abuse program. Those who don't enter or complete a program end up
with a felony charge.

Drug Court - an intensive, treatment-based chance for addicts to fight
their addiction and escape a felony conviction - has been operating above
capacity for months, staff members report.

Clients can be in the program for a long time, including a year or more.
Requirements include drug testing, counseling and scheduled court hearings.
Those in the program progress through a series of levels with different
requirements before graduating.

The program is funded by the county to handle about 120 clients a month.
But Laura Collopy, a court officer for the program, said the numbers
enrolled have been greater than budgeted, ranging from five to 40
additional clients, since last July.

"I think we are still providing a high level of service," Collopy said.

"We can do it," she said of working with the higher number of clients. "But
we're obviously pushing it."

Staff, she said, are more comfortable dealing with about 100 clients.

Alachua County Judge Jeanne Crenshaw, who serves as one of the judges in
the court, said, "I think that one of the things that makes this program
effective as opposed to others is they get personal attention all down the
line. You just reach a point where there is just not that much personal
attention."

"I don't always remember everybody's name, but I used to be able to
recognize everybody's face. Now there's so many that I have to be reminded
of who's who," Crenshaw said.

Collopy said, "Obviously if we had more funding we could have more staff
and that would mean more clients."

And with the prostitution bill, Collopy said, "There are going to be a lot
more arrests that are misdemeanors that will be felonies now," making these
defendants eligible for Drug Court.

Crenshaw said she has no quarrel with the reasoning behind the bill. "The
problem is they didn't fund it. I think there will probably be a
substantial number of people coming to Drug Court, and I'm glad to see it
if somebody funded it."

"I don't know if it will come to a point where we can't take any more,"
Collopy said about the number of people the program works with. "But it
could come to a point where we would have to be very choosy."

Cyndi Morton, director of the Alachua County Court Services Department,
said, "If growth continued, it would reach a point where we would have to
say we can't take anymore."

Crenshaw said, "I just worry that with the bigger loads that we are going
to hit staff burnout, that we are going to top out on funds for treatment."

Drug Court, which serves adults with nonviolent felony charges, has a
budget of $447,762, Morton said. It is seeking an additional $80,000 in
funding to help pay overtime for staff and pay for intensive or residential
treatment and urinalysis tests for clients. The extra money would let the
program add about 30 clients to their budget.

At a recent Drug Court hearing, not many of the clients looked happy to be
in court. Two who talked about the program but did not want their names
used, however, agreed that Drug Court is worthwhile and needs additional
funding. One, a 29-year-old mother who said she sold crack cocaine, said,
"It helped me a lot. It's helped me become very civilized. A lot of people
recover from serious problems." But now she said the program's counseling
sessions suffer from overcrowding and a lack of space. "There's so many
people in there and we need more room," she said.

Few sessions are offered in the evening, she said, forcing some who
participate in Drug Court to give up jobs so they can make meetings. And
she said there should be more opportunity for clients who need intensive
treatment at a facility to get it. Now, she said, there is a waiting list.
"The people need it when they need it."

The program's proponents argue that a suffering Drug Court has
repercussions for the community.

"The same argument we've always made is that we do reduce the risk to the
community and, therefore, the expense to the citizens of the county,"
Collopy said.

Figures for Alachua County's Drug Court show about 12 percent of their
graduates have been arrested again for drug offenses. That's compared to
about 60 percent to 70 percent who break the law again after being
convicted and sentenced.

National statistics available for Drug Court programs show a recidivism
rate of 4 percent to 28 percent for graduates and participants, Florida's
Office of the State Courts Administrator reports.

Nationally, it's estimated treatment costs run about $3,000 versus $18,000
to $26,000, which are the future incarceration costs for those who are
rearrested.

In Alachua County, it costs about $50 a day to keep an inmate at the jail,
compared to $8 to $10 a day to work with them through Drug Court.

"If a person is eligible for the program and a good candidate for the
program I would prefer to see them in Drug Court," Collopy said.

She also noted it's cheaper to have a person in Drug Court than in jail.
"If we had more funding, we could help alleviate the jail population
problem," she said.

Funneling eligible candidates to Drug Court could help the jail, which also
is reporting a higher population. Officials fear that the totals at the NE
39th Avenue facility, if unchecked, could create a dangerous situation for
officers and inmates. Some have suggested offering additional treatment
programs to defendants who need help with mental disorders or substance
abuse could be an alternative to jailing them.