DRUG COURT TO HELP COUNTY TEENS REPAIR LIFE

Every Thursday, Sandra Boggs meets with troubled Kanawha County students,
their principal and their parents. She discusses the students' problems and
possible solutions.

Boggs noticed a trend with Kanawha County students: Many of their problems
were drug-related.

"When it comes to drug-related activities, there isn't a lot we can do [in
the school system]," said Boggs, the county's director of student affairs
and alternative schools. "I felt like we needed to address these problems
in a different way or better way than we can handle."

So she approached social workers, attorneys and judges at the Kanawha
County Courthouse about creating the first drug court in the county.

After meeting for months, organizers are ready to ask the state Department
of Health and Human Resources for the money to start the program. Terrell
Ellis was hired to prepare a grant application to ask for $300,000 to
$400,000 a year for three years.

The application is due Wednesday, but the court's supporters won't know if
it's approved until August. If the grant is approved, organizers will have
only a few weeks to iron out the details and get the program started. It
must be up and running by Sept. 30, Ellis said.

The teen drug court would function as a diversion program, but juveniles
could enter the program at any stage in the court process, organizers said.
"Conceivably if a kid is on a probation and they violate probation, they
could get sent to drug court," Ellis said.

Chief Circuit Judge James C. Stucky would oversee the program.

Organizers said the program would start off small, but could eventually
have as many as 50 participants.

Prosecutors agree that drugs - primarily marijuana - are becoming a bigger
problem in the school system.

Assistant prosecutor Chris McClung said the program would be primarily for
first-time drug offenders. Prosecutors could conceivably refer a juvenile
to drug court and drop the charges if he or she successfully completes the
program. Repeat offenders would be viewed differently, he said.

The first step to being enrolled in the program is accepting
responsibility, organizers said. "They have to admit they have a problem,"
McClung said.

Prosecutors would warn juvenile offenders who enter the diversion program
about the consequences if they fail. "They are referred back to juvenile
court," McClung said.

Drug court is not a baby-sitting service, organizers warned. Parents and
the community must get involved to help the troubled teens get back on
track, Ellis said.

"Parents will have to agree that they will play a big role in this," she
said. "If a student is in this, he has to buy into it and so do the parents."

The initial phase of the program will be based on clinical treatment,
breaking the addiction. Students must take drug screens throughout the
program. The second phase is geared more toward setting personal goals and
establishing a support system, Ellis said.

Organizers haven't established any hard rules about how to handle a student
who slips while in the program, said Court Administrator Bill Murray. A
teen may be moved back a phase if he starts to fail, he said, but there
won't be a lot of room for slip-ups.

"This isn't a program that you'll get a lot of free bites out of the apple.
You'll either comply or not," Murray said.

Ellis and Boggs said they wanted to create a program that had a lot of
community support.

Faith-based organizations, such as Team Agape and the Institute for
Courageous Destinies, are involved in the program. Prestera is expected to
provide the professional treatment program.

"They need other interests and people to help tutor them," Boggs said. "A
lot of these kids are failing. We need all kind of support involved in this
program."