Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jun 2001
Source: Commercial Appeal (TN)
Section: News; Pg A11
Copyright: 2001 The Commercial Appeal
Contact:  http://www.gomemphis.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/95
Author: Don Thompson, The Associated Press

DRUG REHAB EXPERIMENT STIRS FUNDING WORRIES IN CALIF.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The nation's biggest experiment in drug rehabilitation 
begins Sunday in California amid warnings from Los Angeles County officials 
that they do not have enough money to carry out their part.

Proposition 36, passed last fall by California voters, will require 
treatment instead of prison or jail for the estimated 36,000 California 
nonviolent drug users convicted each year of use or possession for the 
first or second time. Treatment will range from counseling sessions to a 
stint at a rehab center.

Arizona, the only other state with a similar program, diverts about 6,000 
drug offenders a year to treatment.

California led the way in jailing drug users two decades ago and now locks 
up more drug offenders per capita than any other state, at 115 people per 
100,000 population. That is more than twice the national average.

Proponents of Proposition 36 said drug treatment addresses the root of the 
problem and saves money in the long run by reducing the need for prisons.

Each of California's 58 counties has its own plan to carry out Proposition 
36, which allocates $120 million a year for implementation statewide.

In Los Angeles County, California's biggest county with 9.5 million people, 
officials say their program could be overwhelmed and underfunded when it 
tries to handle a projected 17,000 cases - about one-third of the state's 
expected eligible offenders - with $30 million in state money.

"The county's going to go into debt. We just don't know how much," said 
Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan, who supervises the county's drug courts.

Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, California director for Phoenix Houses, one of 
the nation's largest treatment providers, said she expects a fight between 
counties and the state over which is responsible for providing any 
additional funding.

"At this moment we clearly have many more clients than we have funding 
for," said Stanley-Salazar, who sits on the state and Los Angeles County's 
Proposition 36 implementation task forces. "We're building the 
transcontinental railroad here, six inches at a time."

The initiative's supporters say officials are being alarmist.

"There's a lot of 'Chicken Little' going on in L.A.," said Whitney Taylor 
of the Lindesmith Center, a policy research institute. She said it is too 
soon to say whether the county will be overwhelmed.

Drug offenders who want to stay out of jail and get help from one of the 
300 or so private treatment services in Los Angeles County will have to 
enter a conditional guilty plea. They then will be supervised during 
treatment by one of 26 special judges. Offenders' records are cleared if 
they complete treatment.

Under the county's current drug treatment program, offenders are tested up 
to six times a week during the early stages of treatment.

But no money has been set aside for testing under Proposition 36, which has 
led to one of the most serious debates about the measure.

Treatment proponents say counties like Los Angeles test far more often than 
necessary, driving up costs. Law enforcement officials say they need 
periodic tests to ensure that offenders stay drug-free during treatment.

Both sides are supporting a bill in the Legislature that would provide an 
additional $18 million statewide for drug testing.
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