Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2007
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2007, The Detroit News
Contact:  http://detnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

CUTBACKS HIT DRUG COURTS HARD

Programs That Put Offenders in Alcohol, Drug Therapy Instead of Jail 
Forced to Retrench.

DETROIT -- A runaway at 12 and a prostitute by 14, Felicia Donahue 
was desperate for a fresh start.

It wasn't until the 30-year-old woman was arrested -- seriously 
addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol -- that she got the chance.

A program at the 36th District Court in Detroit called Project Fresh 
Start that targets drug-addicted prostitutes put Donahue on the right 
path. Today she is sober, enrolled in community college and is 
preparing to move into her own apartment.

"The last time I was out there, that was my motivation for trying 
this program -- not wanting to go back to where I came from," Donahue said.

Yet funding for the program and dozens of others across Michigan 
designed to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail and enrolled in 
drug and alcohol therapy took a hit this fall when the state 
announced how much or -- in many cases -- how little money it had for 
each court.

Despite $5 million in requests for money for drug court programs, 
only $2 million was awarded statewide. The funding shortage means 
many courts are cutting back staff hours, limiting treatment options 
for offenders and making defendants who often are jobless pay more to 
be in the program.

With low recidivism rates, drug courts have been spreading rapidly 
across the nation, especially in Michigan, where another nine 
programs are under way this year.

"The problem is there are too many programs applying and not enough 
funds to go around," said Marcia McBrien, spokeswoman for the 
Michigan Supreme Court, which oversees the programs and financing.

Drug courts, which operate within the traditional criminal justice 
system, put nonviolent offenders in intensive, 12- to 18-month 
therapies that mandate constant drug and alcohol testing, sobriety 
counseling and court reporting.

A 2006 study by the State Court Administrator's Office showed the 
savings to Michigan taxpayers at two drug courts alone was $1 million 
over two years.

Court officials need money to pay staff, subsidize drug and alcohol 
testing, provide counseling to program participants and pay for 
tracking devices like tethers.

Federal funds are only available for start-up programs, so court 
officials must look elsewhere to make up the deficit.

Kim Chapman, director of probation at Detroit's 36th District Court, 
said Fresh Start needed a full-time case manager to ensure the women 
were compliant with drug testing and reporting to counseling.

But when the court's $45,000 request came up short, Chapman said 
staffers would just have to make do by spreading the work around.

"You always need more money so you can do more work.  These are 
sensitive cases and we need smaller caseloads," said Chapman, who 
oversees the program.  "This reduces recidivism. This is a program 
the state really needs to fund."

These programs reflect a national trend within the court system to 
focus on rehabilitating drug offenders who are kept on a short leash 
and under a microscope.  They must constantly report for testing, 
court and therapy, making it virtually impossible to continue using 
substances without getting caught.

In the program run by Novi Judge Brian MacKenzie, alcohol and drug 
tests are given twice a day for 60 straight days, then once a day for 
another seven months. A single positive test lands the defendant back in jail.

After years of applying for federal and state funds that dwindled 
over time, MacKenzie mainly funds his $150,000-a-year program with a 
$135 fee that every person convicted of drunken driving and sentenced 
in the 52nd District Court must pay. That raised $135,000 last year.

"It was a very tight budget year for the state. The drug court 
funding was the same this year. There are just more drug courts. They 
need to figure out ways to fund themselves," he said.

This month, the Macomb Circuit Court turned to its County Board of 
Commissioners for funding for its drug court program after federal 
funds dried up. The court is getting $210,000 from the county to keep 
the program, which targets drug-related but nonviolent offenders.

Circuit Judge James Biernat said his program targets the most 
difficult group of offenders -- those who keep using and keep getting 
arrested. Most of the 59 program graduates were headed to prison for 
lengthy terms before they were diverted into the drug court program.

Judge Phyllis McMillen, who operates a sobriety court in Waterford 
Township with about 300 active participants, said she must squeeze 
more money out of other agencies like the Oakland County Office of 
Substance Abuse to make up for the shortage.

"Testing is very expensive and the money would help pay for things 
like the alcohol tethers and alcohol monitors where you are called at 
night at home and you have to test there," McMillen said. "The risk I 
take is that someone on probation is going to get in a car and kill. 
I need to know they are sober. And it's way cheaper than putting 
someone in jail for $400 a month." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake