Pubdate: Thu, 04 Apr 2002
Source: Daily Press (VA)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Press
Contact:  http://www.dailypress.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

CUTS TO DRUG PROGRAMS WILL COST IN LONG RUN

Drug abusers, young or old, don't evoke much sympathy from the public. 
Their advocates are few, not as vocal or powerful as those for people with 
mental illnesses or mental retardation.

Perhaps that explains why programs that give drug offenders an opportunity 
to improve their lives face an uncertain future. Such services were easy 
targets as state lawmakers looked for ways to close a $3.8 billion budget 
shortfall.

Without the state's support, programs such as the Newport News adult drug 
court, in its third year, won't survive a $308,000 cut. It's one of 13 
operating drug courts in the state.

Nine other localities, including Hampton, that want to start drug court 
programs won't get a chance at landing federal grants without the state's 
financial backing.

Drug courts combine substance-abuse treatment, strict monitoring, rewards 
and sanctions for participants, who have been charged with drug-related 
offenses. The goal is to reduce repeat offenses and crime.

But the state cuts target more than drug courts. They also zero out funds 
for a substance abuse treatment and prevention program called SABRE.

Starting in June, the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board will 
lose about $300,000 a year from the state. The funding helps adults on 
probation or parole and juveniles under court supervision. Each year, 
nearly 1,000 youths and adults in Newport News and Hampton alone receive 
counseling and treatment services through the program.

For the youngest offenders, some teetering on the edge of addiction, these 
programs offer support and guidance, a chance to get back on track before 
it's too late.

Fighting addiction is an uphill battle. If drug abusers have a tough road 
ahead of them now, cutting backbone funding for essential programs 
practically guarantees them failure.

Why should anyone care? Because, sympathy aside, these rehabilitation 
programs make sense financially.

Take adult drug court. One participant costs the state about $4,000 a year. 
Compare that with the annual price tag of a jail cell: about $22,000.

But the benefits go beyond dollar savings. Drug court participants are 
required to do more than "stay clean and off drugs." Under strict 
monitoring and regular drug screening, they must earn high school 
equivalency certificates, get jobs, open savings accounts, attend therapy 
and face responsibilities such as paying for child support and court fines. 
In other words, they have to get their lives in order.

Most inmates in jails won't do that.

After a year, drug court participants are less likely to continue a life of 
crime. For jail inmates, the opposite is true. They're likely to commit 
more crimes and wind up back in jail sooner or later. And the root problem, 
drug addiction, remains.

In trying to solve Virginia's financial crisis, legislators are making 
tough choices. This choice, unfortunately, will hamper the ability of 
communities across the state to confront a major problem, one that if left 
to fester will only cause more problems in the future, problems that are 
more expensive and harder to solve.

As Gov. Mark Warner weighs which state cuts to restore and as legislators 
prepare to reconvene for the veto session, drug courts and SABRE should be 
near the top of the list of candidates for rescue. It's pay now or pay later.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager