State Looking At Ways To Cut Budget

DON'T END DRUG COURT,CIRCUIT JUDGE PLEADS

Judge Diane Strickland led efforts to bring drug court to the Roanoke
Valley in 1995.

Drug courts save Virginia taxpayers' money and rehabilitate non violent
addicts and small - time dealers far better than prison terms can, its
supporters say.

But the state's budget crisis may lead legislators to cut funding to the
programs, which keep nonviolent offenders out of prison as they undergo
intensive addiction treatment under a judge's supervision. That would
either put the Roanoke Valley's 104 participants behind bars or leave them
without state-funded treatment, according to valley Circuit Judge Diane
Strickland.

Strickland, who led efforts to bring drug court here in 1995, said she
nearly changed her mind about retiring when she heard about what might
happen. She eventually decided to go through with her planned departure,
after receiving word from local legislators that they will try to save the
program.

"They have assured me that they think something can be done," Strickland
said of House Majority Leader (mailto:Del_Griffith@house.state.va.us)Morgan
Griffith, R-Salem, and Sen. (mailto:MTrumbo@sov.state.va.us)Malfourd "Bo"
Trumbo, R-Fincastle. "There is no written guarantee, just that they are
willing to really go to bat for it."

The state's 13 drug courts - including two juvenile courts, two that deal
with convictions for driving under the influence and one family drug court
- - received a combined $2.6 million in the last budget, Virginia Supreme
Court officials said. But the House of Delegates has no money planned for
them. The Senate's proposed budget has $1.2 million that may be used for
drug courts.

Drug courts are not the only criminal justice-related victims of the
state's budget problems, created by a cumulative revenue shortfall of $3.8
billion over the next 2 1/2 years.

The Senate budget calls for closing some jails, field units and day -
reporting centers. The Staunton Correctional Center, the Fairfax
Correctional Field Unit, the Tidewater Detention Center and the Appalachian
Detention Center in Russell County all would close under the Senate budget.

The House and Senate passed competing budget plans Friday and are trying to
reconcile differences over spending proposals.

Griffith said Strickland contacted him and raised concerns about the
proposed drug court budget cuts.

"Like any mother whose babies are threatened, she came to the defense of
her babies," Griffith said. "She's real concerned about drug courts, and
rightfully so. She has one of the best drug courts in the state."

Griffith is holding onto hope that House and Senate negotiators can
preserve some sort of drug court funding next week as they hammer out
budget bill negotiations.

The drug court crisis came just after (http://www.vt.edu/Virginia Tech
researchers released a study showing that the valley's program continues to
be successful, with a graduation rate that has improved since a 1999 study.
The study of 261 closed cases showed that 68 percent completed the
requirements for graduation - an improvement over the 1999 rate of 60 percent.

Seven percent of graduates received new felony convictions, an increase
from 3 percent in 1999. Non-graduates' new felony conviction rates fell
from 35 percent in 1999 to 14 percent in the new study. However, a ll
participants in the program have a lower recidivism rate than other drug
felony convicts, said Donna Boone, drug court specialist for the Virginia
Supreme Court.

Drug court has also saved the state money, according to the study. It cost
$4,390 per participant in 2000, while confinement cost $22,500 per prisoner
that year.

Strickland said the money the Roanoke Valley requires for drug court has
changed each year. In its first year, the (http://legis.state.va.us/General
Assembly allocated $440,000. Last year, the program received $380,000. It
received less than $200,000 in 2000.

"It's doing fine right now," Strickland said of the program. "Financially,
we are not struggling at this point."

That could all change soon, leaving criminal justice officials wondering
what to do with drug court participants.

"I get a sort of panicked feeling" thinking of how budget woes could affect
the people currently in drug court, Strickland said. "Do you lock them up
at a cost of $22,000 a year or do you leave them on the streets?"

She had already announced her retirement, comfortable that she had done
what she needed to do for the state's largest drug court. She planned to
take a job as a mediator. Then last week, she heard for the first time that
there might be no money for the program.

"I am so committed to this program from a personal standpoint," but she is
really ready to retire, she said. "I don't have any expectation that I
would be withdrawing my announcement to retire. I'm counting on the folks
in Richmond."