Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2007
Source: Metro ( Edmonton, CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 Free Daily News Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/archive.aspx?pdfCity=edmonton
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4475
Author: Steve Lillebuen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

LOCK UP YOUNG ADDICTS: JUDGE

Extended Treatment Programs Proposed

An Alberta judge is recommending young drug addicts be locked up and 
forced into extended treatment programs.

Provincial Court Judge Hugh Fuller proposes periods of confinement 
for youths suffering from addictions so counsellors can be given more 
time to assess their condition.

Current legislation allows youths to be locked up for five days, but 
he calls that time frame a "limited window" of opportunity, only 
serving to confirm an addiction and that someone requires treatment.

The recommendation is part of a fatality inquiry conducted into the 
death of a 17-year-old male who was under the care of social services.

"When their addiction warrants treatment, continued confinement is 
both appropriate and justifiable," he wrote in the report.

"Difficult choices are required in dealing with addictions issues."

He concludes the confinement should remain in place for as long as 
necessary, pending timely reviews and continued recommendations by a 
qualified addictions expert.

The teenager was killed near Stony Plain, Alta., after he bolted from 
a social worker's vehicle and ran through traffic until a truck 
smashed into him on a busy highway on Sept. 28, 2005.

He had a history of drug and alcohol abuse leading up to his death, 
and social workers had reported the youth had experienced suicidal 
thoughts and hallucinations.

The teen had been placed in foster care and several group homes since 
he was three months old and suffered from a brain disorder since his 
mother had abused solvents during her pregnancy.

As he grew older, the prospect of leaving the care of a group home 
terrified him and he resisted therapy programs, the judge concluded.

He died after a social worker picked him up from a family visit west 
of the city, and he tried to jump out of her moving vehicle. She 
pulled over and he immediately fled from the car, running into 
traffic while taking off his clothes. A toxicology report discovered 
he had alcohol and drugs in his system.

Fuller praised the youth's primary social worker, Ellen Schaefer, for 
her dedication to helping him, but recommended the province's 
Children's Services department needs to expand its therapy options to 
be more innovative since the youth resisted all of them.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman