Pubdate: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2000 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: 606-255-7236 Website: http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?lexingtn Author: John Cheves YOUTH DRUG COURT TO OFFER ALTERNATIVES TO JAIL TERM Fayette Program To Begin In Late January Lexington teen-agers whose addictions drive them to commit crimes soon could have an option other than jail. The judges of Fayette District Court plan to launch a juvenile drug court in late January. Like adult drug court, the program will offer youths intensive supervision, education and drug and alcohol counseling. Graduates would avoid a 45- to 90-day stint at the juvenile detention center on Cisco Road, or a longer sentence at a state home or boot camp. "I'm convinced that if we're successful with helping a youth, we'll have less cost to society than if he goes on to become an adult felon. That's not just considering the cost of incarceration, but also the intangible benefit of having a productive member of society," said Judge David Hayse, who is leading the effort. The first class will be small, just 10 offenders with non-violent backgrounds and a willingness to beat their addictions, Hayse said. The court, with little funding, will rely at first on volunteers from agencies such as the Bluegrass Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board, who will serve as case managers and counselors. The court will apply next year for drug court grants available from the U.S. Justice Department, Hayse said. In a typical drug court, defendants whose addictions result in criminal convictions can volunteer to participate. If they obey the rules random urine tests, full-time jobs or schooling, intensive counseling, regular exercise, even journal writing they avoid prison. If they repeatedly break the rules, they're out. Drug courts are growing quickly in most states, but they're not a cure-all. Fayette Circuit Court's adult drug court has graduated 130 people since it opened four years ago. But 234 people were kicked out, to face penalties the judges originally handed down. There are obvious differences between the two drug courts, Hayse said, including the weight of the hammer judges can hold over participants' heads. "If a juvenile is willing to serve 90 days, then there is a limit to what we can do," Hayse said. "If they don't want to complete the program, then they won't. Forty-five days on Cisco Road is not like five years in prison." The juvenile drug court will require at least a weekly court appearance, on top of several afternoons each week of counseling and group activities, Hayse said. Seven Kentucky counties have juvenile drug courts; they report modest successes. Seven youths have enrolled in Christian District Court's nine-month-old program, and despite adolescent rebellion, nobody has been kicked out, said Judge James Adams. "The very first girl we had in the program, today was her 222nd clean day," Adams said. "If there was a drug on the street, she used it. She had been in my court four or five times. She was out of control, she cussed at everyone like a sailor. ... Now she has her (General Educational Development certificate) and she's holding a job." In Christian County, participants' parents must attend weekly parenting sessions and join their children in drug education classes, Adams said. In some cases, parents are either lax in allowing their children to use drugs, or they're using drugs in front of the children, so they have to change their own attitudes, he said. Braxton Crenshaw, a Lexington defense lawyer, has represented teen-age clients with drug problems. He prefers intervention to incarceration. But he wonders whether young people will take their addictions seriously enough to ask for help. "Typically, young people think they're bulletproof," Crenshaw said. "I don't know how many kids will be willing to stop using based on a court intervention. I'm sure some of them will, but I just don't know how many." - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager