The Coffee County Drug Court program keeps growing. Seventeen participants graduated on July 6 – the largest number of graduates since the program’s beginning over a decade ago, according to Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell.
The graduation was held July 6 at the Coffee County Conference Center.
Drug court is a two-year treatment program for nonviolent offenders living in Coffee County whose current offense is a result of illegal drug use or who have a history of drug abuse.
“I want to commend the participants in the program who have taken the initiative to turn their lives around and have now become productive citizens in our county,” Cordell said.
Cordell has attended a number of graduation ceremonies held by the Coffee County Drug Court.
“This past week, I was happy to see 17 folks graduate, the most the drug court has had since it began the program in 2005,” Cordell said.
“When asked to compare their lives before the drug court program to their lives today,” he said, “the range of answers from those graduating went from ‘chaos, dysfunctional, no-hope and suicidal’ to ‘purposeful, hopeful and structured.’”
Low recidivism rate
The success of the program can be measured by those who remain drug-free after completing the program, according to statistics presented by Cordell.
According to the mayor, Coffee County has had an 11 percent recidivism rate for those originally arrested on drug charges in the past five years, while the national level is around 80 percent.
Cordell said he praises everyone involved with the drug court for the success of the program.
One of those involved is Coffee County General Sessions Judge Tim Brock.
“I have been involved since the program’s inception as the presiding judge,” Brock said.
Brock explained that the program is for nonviolent offenders who have a significant history of involvement with the criminal justice system and who have substance abuse addiction diagnoses.
In the initial phases of the program, Brock sees each participant in court to monitor his or her compliance with the requirements and to monitor the progress.
“As each participant progresses in the program, I see them in court on a less frequent basis,” Brock said.
The drug-recovery court model is the most researched and tested model in the history of criminal justice rehabilitation programs, according to Brock.
“The model adheres to evidence-based strategies that have been proven in numerous studies to significantly reduce recidivism of the participants,” Brock said.
The expected recidivism rate for this population is from 75 to 85 percent. The recidivism rate for drug court graduates is between 10 and 25 percent.
“This program also is much more cost efficient than simply placing a person in long-term incarceration, saving as much as $3 in hard costs for every dollar spent,” Brock said. “It allows families to be reunited, parents to parent their children, and persons to become employed and pay taxes. In summary, it makes our community a much safer place to live in.”
The program
Drug court assists with the intervention, treatment and rehabilitation of eligible offenders who desire to improve their lives and to break the cycle of drug dependency.
Participants must remain ‘clean and sober’ to complete the program successfully.
The program lasts two years and involves five phases.
The pre-treatment phase lasts from two to four weeks. A key element of this phase is that participants are housed in a facility in order to be separated from the environment that led to their addiction. They stay at the facility until they have developed drug-avoidance skills.
During the next four phases, participants return to the community, work or attend school full time and follow the treatment course. During this time, they have frequent random drug screens, court appearances and perform community service.
Upon successful completion of the five phases, participants graduate and are required to participate in a year of aftercare, involving weekly group meetings, random drug screens, some court appearances and alumni activities.
Upon completion, participants are discharged from the program, and any remaining supervision is transferred to the Coffee County Probation Office.
The goal is for participants to continue to stay ‘clean and sober,’ and to be able to maintain their job, further their education, improve their health and become contributing members of the society.
The program is funded through grants, fees, fines and contributions.
Coffee County Drug Court is located at 604 College St., Manchester.
To find out more about the program, call 931-723-3051 or visit http://www.cctndrugcourt.org/ADC_description.htm.
Veterans’ program to start soon
The veterans’ program will be a new addition to the drug treatment and recovery court program. This program is expected to begin later this summer. Judge Craig Johnson will be presiding over the new veterans’ drug treatment court.
