To understand how Minnesota\u2019s Drug Court system is working, you need only to consider this before-and-after scenario.<\/p>\n
Before: In March of 2012, Steve B. of Hastings was facing a prison sentence of seven to 10 years on felony charges of possession and sale (to an undercover cop) of methamphetamines. There were restraining orders against him. He had lost his wife, his house, his job in the construction industry, parental rights, and access to his then 5-year-old daughter. He\u2019d been using for five years, was \u201ccaught up in the lifestyle,\u201d and keeping company with others on the same hellish trajectory. \u201cI was willing to give up everything for the drug,\u201d he says in retrospect. \u201cI had a good life, and I lost it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
After: Last Monday, in Dakota County Adult Drug Court, Steve B. was accepting a round of courtroom applause and personal congratulations from Judge Kathryn Messerich, who told him that he\u2019d be \u201cgraduating\u201d March 10 after successfully completing 18 months in the rigorous program. He had done a few months of jail time, finished treatment, remained sober, followed the rules, returned to the work force and recovered his relationship with his daughter. They were going to Disney World, he proudly told the court. \u201cYou have really earned this trip,\u201d Messerich told him. \u201cI have to commend you for how hard you have worked to be a good dad. There is one young lady who is going to have a good life because [you] are her dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was one of four people in the courtroom that day who were told they\u2019d be graduating. \u201cI\u2019m losing all my people,\u201d Messerich said earlier Monday during a team meeting to review the day\u2019s cases. And that was a good thing.<\/p>\n
Cost-effective outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n The state\u2019s first drug court was established in Hennepin County in 1996 and has grown to more than 37 specialty courts (including drug, DWI, veterans, family dependency, juvenile and some hybrids) serving more than 30 counties.\u00a0 The goal is to stop felony drug offenders\u2019 revolving-door interactions with law enforcement and to give them a foothold in a productive, drug-free life. Other goals include improving public safety and reducing the overall costs of illegal drug activity and incarceration. A 2012 statewide study confirmed that the labor-intensive but cost-effective effort was paying off: The study of 535 participants in 16 different courts who entered drug court between July 2007 and December 2008 found a 37 percent reduction in recidivism rates (compared with nonparticipants); a 47 percent reduction in reconviction rates; a 54 percent graduation rate (62 percent if you exclude Hennepin County); higher rates of completing drug treatment programs and maintaining sobriety; higher rates of employment and educational achievement; and greater command of such life skills and responsibilities as obtaining a driver\u2019s license, locating housing and making child-support payments. Most were diagnosed with drug-use disorders, and slightly less than half also had mental-health diagnoses.<\/p>\n The study also found that incarceration costs (both prison and jail) were about $3,000 less for drug court participants (who oftentimes must also do some time) than nonparticipants.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore specialty courts, there was no focus at all on rehabilitating the offenders,\u201d said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom in an interview last week. \u201cWe just did our job, which was to prosecute them, convict them, and put them in jail or prison. And then you didn\u2019t worry about what was going to happen next. But … if we want to keep our communities safe, the most important thing we can do is ensure that these offenders get the help they need for the chemical addictions they have so they don\u2019t break the law again.\u201d<\/p>\n A team approach<\/strong><\/p>\n If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes one to help a repeat felony drug offender break the cycle. Each drug court takes a team approach, with all players at the table \u2013 a judge, a prosecutor, a public defender, a law-enforcement official, probation officers, chemical dependency experts, and community volunteers. Traditional adversaries in the courtroom now become advocates \u2013 all pulling in the same direction.<\/p>\n The Dakota County team provides a good example of how it works.<\/p>\n The day’s caseload (last Monday) includes 14 drug-court participants in various stages of program completion. Some are in Phase I, which requires a courtroom appearance every other week before the judge, twice-weekly random urine tests and meetings with probation officers, compliance with all chemical dependency assessments and treatment recommendations, attendance at the pre-court hearing AA meetings, and participation in cognition skills courses \u2013 just to name a few of the stringent requirements. Some are in stepped-down phases II and III, and some are ready to graduate. Still others are applying to enter the program, and team members try to gauge each person\u2019s level of motivation and possibility of success. Criminal charges in other jurisdictions are considered, and past crimes are weighed.<\/p>\n To opt in, you must agree to plead guilty. And not everyone is eligible: Those who committed violent crimes, have gang affiliations, sold drugs to children, or caused vehicular homicide need not apply.<\/p>\n It gets personal<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that the relationships have become quite personal.<\/p>\n The team members take note of any program participant\u2019s life stressors \u2013 a child-custody battle, a new job to learn, an illness, a bout of depression. They discuss victories \u2013 graduation from school or treatment, reconciliation with a family member, landing a job. They discuss any violations of the program rules. One man whose urine test was positive for cocaine, and who then attributed it to medication that had been prescribed by a doctor, will get seven days in jail \u2013 not just for using but for lying about it. (Other possible sanctions include repeating a phase, community service, electronic home monitoring, or termination from the program.) A woman spotted in a liquor store by a county employee will get a stern reminder about the company she keeps and the choices she is making.<\/p>\n Sure, it gets personal, said Barbara Bauer, drug court coordinator and probation officer. \u201cSometimes they tell me I\u2019m nosy. We go to their homes. We go to their jobs, if that\u2019s possible. We go to their treatment programs and coordinate with their case managers and therapists. We go to their graduations.\u201d And sometimes there\u2019s a \u201cknock-and-talk\u201d surprise visit from a community police officer. To know them [the program participants] is to \u201chelp them figure it out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Backstrom agreed, saying that it\u2019s one of the features of drug court that he likes best. \u201cIt\u2019s the relationships that you develop with these offenders \u2013 letting them know that you believe in them, and that you\u2019re proud of what they\u2019ve accomplished. I think that really helps these individuals get some hope back in their lives. That\u2019s one of the things you lose when you become addicted: hope for your future. You become despondent, depressed. And it\u2019s a cycle that can lead to your death \u2013 at a premature age in many cases \u2013 or continuing criminal involvement, which we can stop.\u201d<\/p>\n To the courtroom<\/strong><\/p>\n After discussing and deciding on a course of action for each case, the team then heads for the weekly courtroom session (every Monday in Dakota County), where all the program participants and hopefuls sit waiting in the jury box. Some are in handcuffs. A scattering of family members \u2013 some in agony, and some filled with pride \u2013 also are present.<\/p>\n The mood is mostly upbeat, as Messerich praises the four who will graduate. Her words are authentic and believable and land with impact.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to lose participants who are such good role models,\u201d she tells Steve B. There are affirmations for others as well: \u201cYou look like you have a sense of calmness about you.\u201d \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how happy I am to see that smile on your face.\u201d \u201cYou have always impressed me with your energy and focus.\u201d<\/p>\n The county attorney, defense attorney and probation officers also add their words of encouragement. In turn, the participants are given a chance to convey their gratitude and answer the questions, \u201cHow did you do it? What advice do you have for others?\u201d<\/p>\n One woman tells Messerich with pride that she has been hired after completing a job-training program and is giving back by volunteering at a halfway house for teens \u2013 the very same place where she sought refuge as a teen.<\/p>\n For those who are in violation of the rules, Messerich is firm but not retributive. And even here, she manages to inspire rather than discourage. \u201cThis is not just an issue of your health but your freedom,\u201d she tells a man who has been caught using and who will spend the next seven days in jail. \u201cI hope we can get you back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n No one\u2019s immune<\/strong><\/p>\n Backstrom, who participated in the formation of the state\u2019s drug court system and the establishment of its standards, takes a personal interest in its long-term success. His own family has not been immune from the disease of addiction, he said. An uncle died of alcoholism in his 50s, and a beloved nephew died recently of complications from alcoholism. Though his nephew had been through treatment and was attending AA meetings, he had relapsed. Fearful of being found out, he put off getting treated for a bacterial infection until it was too late to save him. \u201cIt\u2019s been terrible,\u201d Backstrom said. \u201cMy sister and her family have really struggled \u2013 as we all have.\u201d<\/p>\n An even earlier tragedy left its mark, when a young man who had been drinking crashed head-on into Backstrom’s parents\u2019 car. Backstrom was just 19 years old, a college freshman. His father recovered from his injuries, but his mother, who died in 2004, suffered permanent brain damage. \u201cIt destroyed my family in many ways,\u201d Backstrom said. “The mother I grew up knowing really wasn\u2019t with me anymore. She was a different mother. I loved her just as much. But she could never say a sentence for the rest of her life. She could never walk normally. She could never move her right hand again. She suffered every day for the final 31 years of her life because of a poor decision a young man made.\u201d<\/p>\n Backstrom says he sometimes wonders what became of the young man who caused the accident: \u201cI\u2019ve always wondered if he really, fully understood the extent of the damage he caused to my mother and my family. I hope he didn\u2019t have any further violations, and I hope he lived a good life.\u201d<\/p>\n As he wonders, perhaps he can take some comfort from Steve B., who said of the Dakota County Drug Court team: \u201cThey gave me the strength. They cared for me when I couldn\u2019t care for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: www.minnpost.com\u00a0 5th March 2014<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To understand how Minnesota\u2019s Drug Court system is working, you need only to consider this before-and-after scenario. Before: In March of 2012, Steve B. of Hastings was facing a prison sentence of seven to 10 years on felony charges of possession and sale (to an undercover cop) of methamphetamines. There were restraining orders against him. 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