Searcy, AR Drug Court program

Drug court program offers second chance: The option is to get clean or go to jail, and many are finding they can succeed

The man, let's just call him David, walks up to the microphone, puts his hands in his front pockets and rocks back and forth on his heels as he speaks to the judge.

The judge asks about the man's work, his wife and life in general. The men laugh at David's jokes and chit-chat about his daughter needing help with her vocabulary homework.

The conversation is fairly easy, but there is obviously an elephant in the room. David recently got out of a four-month stretch in a regional punishment facility, a cross between a halfway house and prison.

He is facing up to a decade in prison if he tests positive for drugs again. This is his last chance in the 17th Judicial District Drug Court and says he will stay clean for the rest of the program.

"There is no doubt that I will," he says after his weekly court appearance. "I didn't like 120 days (in RPF) and I know I am not going to like 10 years (in prison)."

David, whose real name is being withheld to protect his privacy, is one of eight White County "clients" currently participating in the drug court, an intensive drug treatment program being offered by judicial districts across the state.

The program mixes group therapy and individual counseling with regular drug testing to try to give the drug addict as much support as possible kicking the addiction. If completed, the client will have the related charge expunged from his or her record.

Similar programs have worked well in other parts of Arkansas and around the country. Recidivism rates as high as 50 percent drop to 4 percent for people who complete a drug court program.

The program

The drug court system in Arkansas started as a pilot program in Little Rock in 1993. That program showed promise and the legislature funded the formation of similar drug courts around the state in 2003.

Each judicial district was given the opportunity to start a drug court program, and all but a few did. The 17th Judicial District began its program in November 2003.

Each district has a "drug court team" consisting of a judge, probation officials, a drug counselor and an area supervisor. The team meets with its clients at least once a week initially, then relaxes that schedule as the program progresses.

Prosecutors make an initial assessment of a possible drug court participant, examining case files to determine if a defendant is eligible for drug court. The prosecutor's office looks at the defendant's crime, its circumstances and his or her criminal history.

Deputy Prosecutor Rebecca Reed said the program is designed to help people whose addiction has led to a life of crime.

"When we get the case files of people who have been arrested for felony hot checks or breaking and entering, the underlying problem might be an addiction," Reed said. "People who recreationally smoke dope on the weekends are not who we look for."

An average drug court client is a first time offender arrested for a non-violent crime, although Judge Craig Hannah said the program could accept a person with a previous record. However, Hannah said, that person cannot have been charged or convicted for any violent offense, sex crime or drug manufacturing or distribution.

They have to have transportation, to be able to meet everyday either in court or with the drug court team. They must have a high school diploma or be willing to work toward a graduation equivalency diploma. And they also must be employed or be willing to become employed.

Hannah said an understanding employer helps, because he or she must give their employee time to complete the drug court requirements. It is a major commitment, and an employer has to be willing to work with the offender.

Some drug clients have even needed to find other employment so they can live up to their end of the drug court bargain, according to Department of Community Correction Area Three Manager Jim Nance.

Nance oversees drug courts in White, Independence and Prairie counties and said all of the program's requirements are laid out for the offender before he or she can make the decision to be part of the drug court. Once they are in the program, they must comply with all of its rules and requirements or risk going to prison.

"They have to make that decision on the front end with their lawyer," Nance said. "There is no choice but to follow the program."

If the offender decides to go forward with the drug court, they are sent to a drug counselor for screening to determine if they are the right fit for the program. Drug Counselor Susan Hathcote gives the potential client a written assessment and talks with them about their substance abuse history.

"(The assessment) tells us if that person can hack the program," Nance explained.

If Hathcote determines the offender is an addict and believes they are willing to tough out the program, he or she is allowed in, assuming, of course, that the prosecutor's office and judge agree.

"There is some subjectivity to it," Hannah said. "Sometimes, we don't feel like a person can complete the program after just talking to them."

But for those who make it into drug court, the work is just beginning.

The person must plead guilty to his or her charges in court. They can then be transferred to drug court. The offender's sentence is withheld pending the completion of drug court. If the person completes drug court, the charge is expunged from the record.

For those people who do not complete drug court, the program acts as if probation has been violated. The people are then sentenced to time, possibly in the state penitentiary.

"It's a fast track to prison if you are not willing to give up the drugs," Nance said.

Drug court probation officer Tiffany Jackson supervises the clients throughout the program. She makes unannounced home visits, during which the client's residence may be searched. And she works with the other drug court members to administer regular drug testing.

Hannah and the drug court team typically meets every Monday to discuss the various cases to see if anyone has been having problems in the program. And then the judge talks to the clients in court.

"If they have a problem, then we will address that problem," Hannah said. "If they have violated a rule, then we will address that."

The level of a client's participation and progress in the program determines how long it lasts, but it lasts at least a year.

The program is divided into four phases with the first being the most intense.

"As you graduate to the different phases, it gets easier," Hannah said.

He explained that in phase 1, the program focuses on "educating clients about the disease of addiction and living a chemical-free lifestyle."

Phase 2 concentrates on "the development of moral reasoning and enhancing self-image to promote personal growth."

Phase 3 focuses on "enhancing and developing daily living skills. Participants will also develop skills to help them communicate more effectively with other people in society through identifying and resolving emotions encountered in the recovery process."

During Phase 4, the participant is taught relapse prevention skills and "is required to develop a working relapse prevention plan that will allow him/her to manage obstacles that may hinder sobriety."

After graduating from the program, the client is monitored in a follow-up period of about six months. And during that time the graduate assists and supports current participants.

Of course, along with the carrot of a potentially clean record and sober life, there is the stick of the "four strike system."

"Our system is a four strike system and after the fourth strike, you are out of drug court," Hannah said.

The range of punishment for the first strike is typically a weekend in jail. The second is up to 15 days in jail. The third strike sends people to a regional punishment facility - where David spent time - for 40-90 days. With a fourth strike, the person is sentenced for the crime they pleaded guilty to, usually to prison time.

"We have to have pretty bright lines, so that everyone knows what they can and cannot do," he said. "There has to be a lot of structure to it."

He said that everyone knows what the rules are, so there are no questions if they have broken a rule. Hannah said one person has struck out since the local program was started. He was sentenced to six years.

"I hope that while he is down in the penitentiary, that he will get some treatment and maybe get over his problem," he said.

The clients

David said he doubts that programs in prison or on probation would have worked for him.

"Without them making me stay off (of drugs), there is no reason for me to quit," he said before reconsidering his answer. "Well, there are a lot of reasons for me to quit, but I wouldn't have."

David, like many of the drug court clients, is a methamphetamine addict. He was busted for possession and entered drug court shortly after it was formed. He is now in phase 2 and said he is working hard to stay clean.

He lost four months of the program to RPF time after his third strike, a mistake he cannot make again without more serious repercussions. He said he really wants to stay clean.

That is a big draw for many of the drug court's clients, according to Hathcote. She said they see the program as a real chance to quit an addictive life.

"People want to come here because it is intensive treatment," she said. "This is their choice."

Another client, who we will call John, said he made that choice because he wanted to kick his habit after 30 years of drug use.

"If I was on probation, I would still be using," John said, "(On probation) you can just clean up for a week, get tested and then go on about your business."

He said that because of the regular testing, there is not the opportunity to do that in this program, and he is thankful for that. He said that when he was using he was a selfish person and the program has given him ways to be unselfish.

"They are giving us the tools to live on life's terms," he said with a smile.

Drug court clients are required to attend three Narcotics Anonymous meetings a week. John said he attends about six.

He admits that he has fallen down in the program. He has two strikes against him. But he said the program has taught him to focus on the future and on avoiding his third strike.

Dan, whose real name is also being withheld, has done comparatively better than John. Now in phase three, Dan has no strikes against him and now has a more relaxed court visitation schedule.

He said it has been difficult, but he has been clean for seven months and has a new perspective on life.

"Being clean has been a buzz," he said. "I like it."

The cost

Still, despite stories like Dan's, the drug court is having trouble attracting clients.

"We have had a lot of trouble getting people in," Hannah said. "A lot of people look at this and say, 'I can go to my regular probation and meet with my probation officer once a month. It is random drug tests and it is a lot easier to do.' They don't see the other side of it, the rehabilitative side. We are providing them with thousands of dollars of free treatment."

Hannah said the drug court should have a full 60-person program

"I am a little discouraged because of the numbers," he said. "I think we should have more people in the program."

He said he has talked to other judges though, and they have told him the White County numbers are common.

Aside from finding an employer who will work with the drug court, one possible hindrance to participation is a $600 fee charged to the program's clients and $45 in monthly court and probation fees

But Hannah and Nance both said those fees can be deferred or worked off.

Nance said the clients can do community service to pay for the program if they need to.

"We're not going to make cost an issue if that is the only thing holding them back," Nance said.

Hannah said that while the $600 charge goes to help fund the program, "it is just a drop in the bucket" compared with the costs of running it. The payback, he said, will come with lower prison costs now and fewer repeat offenders in the future.

"That was one of the reasons that the state passed it - the overcrowding of the jails," he said. "We are helping people and not just locking them up."

He said the monetary difference in incarceration and treatment show why the program should be used. It costs about $30-$40 a day to incarcerate someone. It costs only about $5 a day for treatment.

"It is definitely cheaper than sending them to jail," he said. "And if our statistics hold true, it should help with our jail overcrowding. If we have only 3-4 percent who graduate to come back into the system, that will help a lot."

And for the other 96-97 percent, it could help a lot more.


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