DRUG COURT NO 'SLAP ON THE WRIST'

BENTON -- When 17-year-old Raif was moved out of the juvenile court system into drug court a year ago, he thought life had just gotten easier.

"I thought I was getting a slap on the wrist," said Raif, who had been arrested for misdemeanor marijuana use. "I figured we'd go into these treatment sessions and watch movies."

Instead, he was told to give urine samples three times a week, not including spot-checks. He met another two times weekly with other teen-age boys who were made to challenge each other about the relevancy of their drug use. When he relapsed, Raif was sent to Scott County Judge David Dolan the same week .

Before Dolan helped start the state's first juvenile drug court in his 33rd Judicial District, several weeks could go by before a juvenile who had been caught with illegal drugs came back to court.

Drug court has sped up accountability, Dolan said.

As president of the state's National Association of Drug Court professionals, Dolan will speak at the group's conference in San Francisco this week. He will tell those attending how to start drug court associations in their states.

"There are states that have a lot of drug courts, but they are not cohesive," he said.

This is one reason why some judges shy away from starting drug courts, he said.

In Missouri, the numbers are growing. There are 25 drug courts, with four other juvenile courts in St. Louis city and Cole, Jackson and Newton counties.

More are coming, said Ann Wilson, alcohol and drug abuse coordinator for the state Court Administrator's office.

Since Dolan began his drug court in 1996 for Scott and Mississippi counties, about 10 youths a year are involved. Of these, only one was arrested again, but not on a drug charge, the judge said.

The idea for a drug court in this region comes from a lack of both prison space and treatment programs.

"If every drug offender was locked up, we would have to start taking the rapists and murderers out of prisons," Dolan said.

Substance abuse programs are few. For a lack of local treatment options, judges send most juvenile drug offenders to residence programs in the St. Louis area, where costs approach $400 a day, Dolan said.

To operate the drug court, Dolan needs between $1,500 and $2,500 a year a person.

The money spent is usually not wasted, he said. Those arrested on drug charges who go through drug courts are three times less likely to be arrested on new drug charges or felonies.

Compared to the $25,000 annual cost of housing an inmate in prison, money spent on drug courts is a savings, Dolan said.

Terrie McCarter handles the group sessions for the Scott County drug court. Beyond that, the program coordinator for Correctional Counseling Inc. works with substance abuse cases in five other Southeast Missouri counties.

She leads the youths through "moral reconsternation."

"That's a big word for challenging their belief system," she said. "They have to have a reason for what they believe."

Family involvement is a key to success, McCarter said. Families have to be a part of their children's counseling for four hours a week.

"I didn't want to be involved in this unless there was significant family involvement," she said.

The immediacy of punishment for those who give a drug-tainted urine sample is another factor, Dolan said. Punishment varies, from assigning a research paper to public service to spending a weekend locked up.

"It's more of a sanction than anything else," he said.

So far, Dolan's court has been a boys-only event. They are harder on each other about staying clean than he is, Dolan said.

"The starting point for us is being honest," said 17-year-old Raif.

This was not easy, coming from a town of about 4,800. Everyone knew when he was arrested for marijuana possession, and some parents labeled him as unsuitable for their children to be around, he said.

Honesty has helped Raif work out relations in his own family, he said. Fights with his 16-year-old brother are common, but he remembers one time last year when he was bothering his younger brother about his poor grades.

"He told me Well at least I don't smoke marijuana,'" Raif said.

After Raif started the program last May 25, he completed drug court two weeks ago, Dolan said.

"He was running late for a baseball game, so we had to hurry through his graduation ceremony," the judge said.

Honesty has helped change the way Raif thinks.

"I used to have this quote about doing whatever and not caring," he said. "That's not me now."