New Treatment Program for Addicted Offenders — Planned Recidivism Deterrence

Reported by Jane Alken, RID-USA, Inc.

The quaint Fulton County Courthouse was built in 1772, the oldest courthouse in NY and is an historic landmark in downtown Johnstown. It is also the site of an innovative, fresh approach for treatment of substance abusers in this rural community. The Drug Court program offers an alternative to jail for handling repeat offenders with a history of addiction. Nonviolent defendants with the approval of the court, are placed on a program of supervision, frequent drug testing, counseling and education as a way to reform. The participants’ progress is monitored by a caseworker, an assistant district attorney, their attorney and Fulton County Judge Giardino who meets with them regularly in court.

This program has been well received and recently won a three year grant from the Department of Justice for $349,557 to continue its development. The small town community and the personal interest of Judge Giardino create an intimate and supportive environment which provides a much needed structure for people who might otherwise fall through the cracks and relapse. This program has been running for two years now and has a total of 40 men and women enrolled, including lower court cases.

Drug courts started as a new idea for treatment in 1989 and now more and more are being implemented. Fulton County’s grant is part of more than $25M in funding awarded to similar programs across the country. Some of the changes since the drug court started include eliminating the probation program by having police surveillance and in-house treatment and job training programs. Eligible defendants need some insurance funding available, such as Medicaid. The records for DWI offenders are not expunged at the end of the program, and licenses are suspended during the three year program. Initially 100 defendants were screened, 50 assessed and 35 were accepted in the program. Some defendants had three or four prior alcohol/driving convictions and would have faced 1 1/3 to 4 years in jail without this program. Defendants are required to pay restitution, attend AA and alcohol treatment, submit to random testing for alcohol, and other drugs, train for job upgrades and waive their right to appeals. Drug court defendants must present themselves before the County Court Judge Giardino bi-monthly, along with their case worker, and in-house supervisor to answer questions and give their comments in open court. A spirit of camaraderie seems omnipresent, all believing that if one person fails the program, they all fail, including the judge. So far, two years into the program, several clients have failed and have been incarcerated. More importantly over 75% are arrest, drug and alcohol free.

As Judith Kaye, chief judge of NYS said in a Newsweek interview there is the “recognition that courts’ coercive power can change people’s behavior. A defendant in court ordered drug treatment is twice as likely to complete a program, as someone who gets help voluntarily.” (10-11-99 Newsweek).

This group would most likely have gone to jail in the past, but now they have the choice of entering into the treatment program, a highly structured and rigorous schedule of AA or NA meetings, day programs, counseling sessions and court appearances. The intended result is to avoid the problem of repeat offenders, multiple DWIs and jail time for those struggling with addictions to drugs or alcohol, while safeguarding society and producing law abiding, tax paying citizens.