Pubdate: Sat, 1 Dec 2007
Source: Tribune Star (Terre Haute, IN)
Copyright: 2007 Tribune-Star Publishing Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.tribstar.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/448
Author: Deb Kelly
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

MUCH OF VIGO DRUG COURT WORK PLAYS OUT  BEHIND-THE-SCENES

TERRE HAUTE -- Much of the behind-the-scenes work of  the 11-year-old
Vigo County Drug Court happens across  the street from the courthouse
- -- at the Community  Corrections building -- where lab technicians
collect  and process hundreds of drug screens each week.

Drug court participants attend regular one-on-one  meetings with
caseworkers, group meetings focused on  addiction and their regular
court appearances -- but  one of the primary elements of drug court is
testing.

In addition to Judge Barbara Brugnaux, who presides  over drug court
each week, the staff includes Paul  Southwick, coordinator of the drug
court and case  manager, and Eve Fears, a case manager.

Drug court participants complete the program in phases,  which last
from 18 to 36 months.

During Phase 1, participants are drug-tested twice  weekly; in Phase
2, they are tested weekly; by Phase 3,  participants are tested twice
a month and in Phases 4  and 5, the drug and alcohol tests become random.

The testing is not cheap, and though participants pay  various fees to
cover drug tests, the drug court  program has been supported in part
by federal grant  dollars and by the Indiana Criminal Justice
Institute.  Brugnaux said some funding also has come from the  county
Prosecutor's Office and the County Council.

Drug court administrators hope to approach the Indiana  Legislature in
2009 to ask for appropriations for the  program.

The cost is part of the reason there are so few drug  court
participants -- the program initially was set up  for 100 people,
according to Southwick. Now, there are  about 130, compared with the
county Alcohol and Drug  program, which currently has more than 650
cases.

Drug court is a highly structured program, and offers  many incentives
to participants, not least of which is  the possibility of having
criminal charges dismissed in  exchange for spending 18 to 36 months
in the program.

Testing takes place in the Community Corrections  building at the
corner of First and Ohio streets, a  building that also houses Vigo
County Superior Court  Division 2, the county work release program and
other  corrections offices.

Drug court case managers share space on the second  floor of the
almost-two-year-old building with the  county Alcohol and Drug Program.

Bernie Burns, director of the A&D Program, says the two  programs,
while similar, are not the same.

Unlike the drug court, the county Alcohol and Drug  Program, which has
been in place since 1974, operates  solely with user fees. The A&D
program is an  assessment, referral, education and monitoring resource
  for the court system that helps courts identify when an  offender
could benefit from treatment, whereas drug  court is a newer, more
intensive operation that gives  offenders more one-on-one time with
case managers and  requires regular reporting to the court.

But the two programs work closely together and share  lab equipment
for drug and alcohol tests.

The facility at First and Ohio includes a  state-of-the-art lab that
can process up to 80 urine  samples at one time for a number of
controlled  substances. Tests that come back positive for at least
one substance are kept locked in a storage freezer for  six months in
case of disputes.

While there are more individuals in the A&D program,  the majority of
the drug screenings are done for drug  court. Sixty-five percent of
the nearly 7,000  screenings done over the past year were for drug
court  participants. Of those, about 6 percent came back  positive for
at least one substance.

In addition to urinalysis, the facility is set up to  give regular
breath tests to monitor alcohol use among  participants. Southwick
said they do about 80 breath  tests a day, seven days a week. Most of
those are for  the A&D program; drug court participants may be
required to give breath tests, depending on their  charges.

Drug court participants are screened consistently;  those in the A&D
program only have to submit to tests  if their case managers suspect
they are using.

Burns, who has been with the A&D program since 1985,  said the new
building and lab equipment are "heaven  sent," making their work --
and the work of the drug  court -- much more effective.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake