Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2005
Source: Natchez Democrat, The (MS)
Copyright: 2005 Natchez Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2205
Note: 150 word count limit on LTEs
Author: Julie Finley, The Natchez Democrat
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

DRUG COURT CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY WITH SPECIAL FAMILY NIGHT

NATCHEZ - Twenty-seven Adams County drug addicts didn't get high Wednesday 
night.

They didn't rob a house to get drug money, and they didn't walk the streets 
looking for a deal.

Instead they gathered with family - related by blood or not - to celebrate 
a few birthdays and an anniversary.

"A year ago today I nervously walked into an Adams County courtroom and I 
faced five who were addicted," Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders said. "And I 
wondered if drug court would really work.

"I can stand here today and say, it works."

So Sanders, the drug court team, and most of the participants gathered at 
Pilgrim Baptist Church Wednesday night for a special family night.

The adult felony drug program that started with only five participants has 
grown to 27 and may soon become the model for aspiring courts around the 
country, Sanders said.

Though nothing is finalized, several courts have contacted her about 
viewing the Adams County proceedings as a model for their own courts.

Each participant works through a series of phases up to graduation. They 
appear before the judge once a week for a report on their behavior, their 
jobs, their family and their latest drug test results. A team including 
counselors, lawyers, screeners and clerks work with the participants 24/7 
to help them through the process.

The original five participants are slated to graduate from the program in 
November.

Sanders said since the court's inception, they've had two participants with 
zero infractions, no missed meetings and no failed drug tests. Fourteen 
participants have been 100 percent compliant and two have been 90 percent 
compliant.

Only eight participants have below 50 percent compliance.

As of Tuesday, no drug court participants have been involved in crimes or 
had trouble with the law.

"The goal of the drug court is progress," Sanders said. "This is a program 
that is therapeutic, supervised 24/7, in order that they can get themselves 
clean."

Court participants routinely attend family nights where they bring their 
small children, parents and friends for support. Many of the participants 
said they considered the whole group family.

One participant, who shared organizing duties for Wednesday event, said the 
group was family because they have a common goal.

"A year ago this time, I was still using," he said. "I'm finding new 
avenues now.

"I probably wouldn't have been locked up, but I probably would be dead. I 
truly believe I wouldn't even be living today. I thank God that I am. Not 
only has the drug court given me my family back, but it's given me a chance 
to live." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake