Pot times July 20, 2005
Juvenile Drug Court Funds Short
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1146/a08.htmlNewshawk: chip
Pubdate: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 JUVENILE DRUG COURT FUNDS SHORT
Source: Daily Times, The (TN)
Copyright: 2005 Horvitz Newspapers
Contact:
editor@thedailytimes.com
Website: http://www.thedailytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1455
Author: Darren Dunlap
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159
(Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm
(Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm
(Treatment)
Officials Look To Replace Federal Money Or Revise Treatment Program
Federal grant funding for Blount County's Juvenile Drug Court program dries up
this fall.
Court officers and members of the Juvenile Drug Court team now face the task
of reaching out to community partners such as businesses, churches and other
treatments, who can help raise funds.
Blount County Drug Court Program Director Theresa Irwin said the juvenile drug
court team meets July 26 to discuss funding options, the scope of the program
and what revisions to make to the program.
The Tennessee Drug Court Treatment Act of 2003 aims to divert adult and
juvenile ``chemically-dependent'' non-violent offenders into rehabilitative
programs to reduce drug abuse and drug-related crimes.
Blount County's Juvenile Drug Court Program is one of only a handful in
Tennessee, according to Blount County Juvenile Judge Terry Denton and Irwin.
Some others include Knox, Cumberland and Rutherford Counties. Putnam
County had the first juvenile drug court program in the state, but it folded,
Irwin said.
Blount County's team will have to look at ``what we think is going to work
best for our families and kids,'' said Irwin in a Tuesday interview.
A $450,000 grant through the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance funded
the program's operation from 2003 to present. The county was awarded the
grant in 2002 and began taking juveniles through the program in June 2003.
Eighty-seven juveniles used the program between Oct. 1, 2004, and June
30, 2005. Recently, the juvenile drug court had four graduates.
Juveniles go through one of two tracks, attending counseling, group sessions
and receiving drug screens. The program aims to keep families together,
so Denton, court officer Amanda May and other members of the drug court team
work closely with juveniles and their parents. The Blount County
District Attorney's Office also has members on the drug court team.
For kids with families wrestling with addiction issues, treatment can be a
complicated process.
``We're dealing with the whole family,'' said Denton.
And that means it's important to have the help of the family during all phases
of the program, he said.
``We only see the kids so many hours a week,'' Denton said. ``We're so
dependent on the family's follow-up.''
Irwin said the Blount County Drug Court program can't do its own private
fund-raising because of state law. The juvenile drug court program can
seek grants to replace the funding that runs out this year.
For the fiscal year 2004-2005, which ended July 1, the Blount County Juvenile
Drug Court Program was appropriated $220,527.
This marks the end of the second year of the juvenile drug court program as
well, leaving drug court team members to re-evaluate the program, according to
Irwin. They will review its strengths and weaknesses, its successes and
its failures.
When the county first got the grant, the juvenile drug court had hoped to
continue the program later with a grant through Edward Byrne Memorial State
and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, a federal program.
But the available funding they sought was ``zeroed out'' this year, said
Irwin.