Cabell County Juvenile Drug Court Serves As A Model

      Drugs are the most important problem teens say they face, according to a survey released this year by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.  Not only as the Chief Justice of West Virginia’s highest court, but as a grandparent, I find the statistics alarming.  According to the survey, 61 percent of teens are at moderate or high risk of substance abuse. 

       The risk of substance abuse is not confined to urban areas, but is here in West Virginia.  Marijuana is the number one cash crop in Appalachia and 11 West Virginia counties are considered high intensity drug trafficking areas by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, almost half of all West Virginia high school students have tried marijuana.  

       Some of our children get in legal trouble, making this not just a problem for our society at large, but a problem for our court system.  Out of 7,799 juvenile delinquency cases reported by juvenile probation officers in West Virginia in 1999, 574 cases involved drug law violations.  The only crimes that ranked higher were assault, theft, and property damage.   

      As a court system, I believe we have an obligation to look at how we can more effectively address substance abuse among juveniles in the justice system.  The Cabell County Juvenile Drug Court serves as a model in getting juveniles off drugs and hopefully out of the criminal justice system for the rest of their lives.

      The Cabell County Juvenile Drug Court diverts non-violent juvenile offenders exhibiting alcohol or substance abuse behavior from the traditional juvenile court process to an intensive individualized treatment process.  The program length varies from six-to-10 months depending on each juvenile’s success in completing the program’s phases.  Juveniles from 12-to-17 ½ years of age who qualify can participate in the voluntary program. These juveniles undergo treatment and counseling, and submit to frequent and random drug testing. They make regular appearances before the circuit judge who presides over the program and are monitored closely for program compliance. Parents also must participate in family counseling sessions and meetings with their child’s probation officer, and make appearances in drug court.

      Drug court rewards success. As juveniles move through the program’s phases, they receive gift certificates and go on trips where they learn such skills as whitewater rafting or mountain climbing. Drug court also teaches that bad behavior has consequences. Juveniles, who don’t comply with the program’s requirements, face extended time in the program, increased counseling sessions, community service, and reduced privileges. In extreme cases, such as violent behavior, juveniles are expelled from the program and returned to the regular court process.

      Drug Court “graduates” not only receive the watch we often associate with graduation.   More importantly, they are clean from drugs and receive a clean criminal record with the return of the original criminal complaint filed against them.

      Since the Cabell County Juvenile Drug Court began on July 1, 1999, 85 juveniles have been referred to the voluntary program; 60 juveniles have entered the program; 19 juveniles have been expelled; and 26 juveniles have graduated.  No more than 20 juveniles participate in drug court at a time.

      The administrative cost of Cabell County’s Juvenile Drug Court program is about $140,000 a year, with about 90 percent of that amount coming from grants. Huntington’s Prestera Center provides counseling and is paid for counseling services through its own grant applications. Overall, the cost of drug court is significantly less than the cost of incarceration in the traditional court system.  But what price can you put on getting a young person off drugs? 

      Although there are over 1,000 juvenile and adult drug courts in operation or being planned in the United States, the Cabell County Juvenile Drug Court is the only drug court in West Virginia. Instrumental in its creation and success are the Cabell County Juvenile Probation Department, which wrote the first grant application to establish a drug court, and Cabell County Circuit Judge Dan O’Hanlon, who as chief judge at the time moved the grant application forward.  Judge Alfred Ferguson most often conducts drug court and is deeply committed to the program.  Judge David Pancake presides when Judge Ferguson is unavailable.  Cooperation from the Cabell County Prosecutor’s and Public Defender’s Offices also makes drug court possible.  

       General Barry McCaffrey, Former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said, “The establishment of drug courts, coupled with [their] judicial leadership, constitutes one of the most monumental changes in social justice in this country since World War II.” I commend the Cabell County Circuit Court for paying attention to such words and taking the initiative to serve as West Virginia’s first drug court model.