Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jan 2008
Source: Hattiesburg American (MS)
Copyright: 2008 Hattiesburg American
Contact: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1646
Author: Leah Rupp

DRUG COURT FUNDING DRIES UP

Lawmakers who once supported a bill requiring that a  drug court be 
established in each of Mississippi's 22  Circuit Court districts have 
backed off the proposal,  saying funding may not be feasible.

Instead, the push this session will be to expand the  system without 
taking money from existing programs and

The goal is to cut down on the cost of incarceration  and give some 
offenders a second chance, proponents  say.

Fourteen Circuit Court Districts already have drug  courts, though 
all are not fully operational yet,  including one in Hinds County.

Forrest and Perry County have an adult drug court and  the Lower 
Pearl River Valley Foundation in December  gave $75,000 for the 
establishment of a drug court that  will serve Jefferson Davis, 
Lamar, Lawrence, Marion and  Pearl River counties.

"We certainly don't want to create a situation where we  would be 
moving backwards," said Senate Judiciary A  Committee Chairman Sen. 
Joey Fillingane, primary author  of the current legislation. "But we 
hope the ultimate  goal will be to expand the program."

A statewide drug court system was established in 2003,  but lawmakers 
failed to fund it. In 2004, the  Legislature approved a special 
assessment on fines for  felony crimes and some misdemeanors to 
provide funding.  The assessment generates about $4 million a year.

Support for drug courts has been slow coming, as some  believe the 
system is "soft on crime," U.S. District  Judge Keith Starrett told a 
group of senators Tuesday.

"Drug courts are about accountability and safer  communities," he said.

As of now, there are 24 certified programs across the  state, 
including juvenile and other drug courts. In  December 2007, about 
1,400 came through adult programs.

Adding new drug courts could eat up the money though,  State Drug 
Court Coordinator Joey Craft said.

"Right now ... we're starting to see that it's costing  about the 
same to fund as we're bringing in with the  assessments," Craft said.

Creating more work in some districts where there are a  limited 
number of judges also could cause problems,  Craft added. Judges 
currently take on the additional  work voluntarily.

Each court is funded based on the number of  participants, capped at 
$240,000 a year.

Craft said phasing in new drug courts would be easier  so that a 
funding source could be identified in  advance.

"We're hoping that eventually, maybe we could expand  some of the 
juvenile drug courts so the system is  reaching people before they 
become adults," Fillingane,  R-Sumrall, said.

House Judiciary A Committee Chairman Ed Blackmon  agreed.

"It saves lives, families and revenue for the state,"  said Blackmon, D-Canton.

Fillingane said a revised bill will be discussed later  in the session.

Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said  paying for an 
offender to go through the drug court  program is cost effective. He 
said it costs about $47  per inmate per day, or $17,155 a year, to 
house state  prisoners. Drug court participants are funded at 
no  more than $2,000 each.

This fiscal year, the Corrections Department is facing  a $19 million deficit.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart