Lake area to add drug treatment courts this summer

Missouri is a national leader in the number of adult treatment or drug courts, with more per capita than any other state.

However, fewer than two dozen Missouri counties still do not offer drug court services, including all five counties within the 26th Judicial Circuit. This summer, that will change.

Kenneth Hayden, 26th Judicial Circuit judge, said plans are underway to start accepting defendants sometime this summer for two drug courts in the circuit, comprised of Camden, Laclede, Miller, Moniteau and Morgan counties.

An adult drug court is a specially designed court calendar - or docket - with a goal to reduce recidivism and substance abuse among drug-involved offenders. An adult drug court seeks to increase an offender's likelihood of successful recovery through continuous judicially supervised treatment, mandatory periodic drug testing, community supervision, and appropriate sanctions and other rehabilitation services.

There were 141 treatment court programs in the state as of Dec. 31, according to the Missouri Supreme Court Drug Courts Coordinating Commission. Of those, 92 are adult drug courts, seven are juvenile drug courts, 11 are family drug courts, 20 are DWI courts and 11 are veteran treatment courts.

Leaders in the 26th Judicial Circuit have wanted to add drug courts for the last few years, but unavailable court time and lack of judicial resources have prevented its implementation. Judge Peggy Richardson joined the circuit late last year after former Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation to add a third judge to the circuit. This change put the possibility of adding drug courts back on the table.

"I have been on the bench for eight years. The majority of criminal cases I see are drug-related. The defendants seem to come back with the same issues as before," Hayden said. "Treatment court was developed to offer tools and resources in a different way and better address the issue of substance abuse. What is being done for those defendants has resulted in benefits to them and to our society. We can help them through a different vehicle."

Hayden said he would lead one drug court in Versailles, providing services for defendants in Miller, Moniteau and Morgan counties.

Judge Stan Moore will oversee a second monthly drug court for Camden and Laclede county defendants at the Camden County Courthouse in Camdenton.

Even though some tentative details have been outlined, a team of court professionals, probation and parole officers, drug rehabilitation services, law enforcement and others are still in the planning stages of implementing the drug court.

"We don't have a set timeline," Hayden said, noting a first meeting last week in Morgan County will be followed by another in Camden County later this month. "A successful drug court program comes when you step back and look at it and everything that is involved. The worst thing we can do is start without any idea of what we want to do, how we are going to accomplish it, and establish no policies or procedures to handle it."

Hayden said many drug courts offer a four-phase structure and are set up in different quadrants dealing with low-risk to high-risk defendants.

One topic discussed at the recent meeting was dual track court, where services are provided not only to high-risk or high-need defendants but also to other drug-related offenders. Hayden said they could go as far as segregating the courts to address high-risk defendants at one time and others at a different time.

The team is also discussing uniform eligibility criteria, policies and procedures, and other partnerships within the community, including bond supervision, pre-trial supervision and regional rehabilitation services.

Even when drug court gets underway, the number of those eligible to enter the program will be small. Hayden said they are looking to address about five participants in each county.

"We are not so naive to the policies and procedures in this process to stack up several cases at once," Hayden said. "We need to get feedback, see how the program is working and be comfortable with the process before we start to talk to additional folks we can provide services for."

Drug court is a cost-effective method to divert offenders from incarceration and provide treatment to those who need it through Medicare, private insurance or other low-cost methods. It is also of no additional cost to taxpayers.

Hayden said the circuit is already handling many of the drug court's duties already, just not under the auspice of drug court. These defendants are already on the regular docket, so it is a matter of reallocating the caseload to the drug court calendar, he said.

"We feel very confident that with a little extra effort from all of us involved, it will not increase caseload and we will be able to do everything in house without any additional cost," Hayden said. "There is potential for grant money statewide, but we want to provide help for these folks on a small-scale basis, so we don't anticipate that need."

For Morgan County Sheriff Normal Dills, the implementation of drug courts is a way to help those young adult felony offenders who can turn their lives around early.

"It is a bad deal for a 17-year-old that dabbles in it one time and then has a felony conviction," Dills said. "If we can get them turned around and keep them from having that felony conviction, it is going to make their life better for the rest of their life. It is not going to be a 100 percent success rate, but if you can get 20 percent turned around, I think you have done something really good."