MONROE - Green County's drug treatment program held its first session Wednesday as the first stage in the county's ongoing effort to curb opioid use.
Four probationers in the Green County circuit court system met with counselors and attorneys to work to reduce their dependencies on drugs in order to lessen their probation time.
In celebration of the successful launch of the drug court project, Green County Circuit Judge James Beer, one of the project's architects, and nine members of the drug court team met with attorneys and counselors to answer questions and explain the mechanics of the court.
Public defender Jane Bucher said the court subscribes to a disease model of addiction, treating addiction like a treatable illness such as diabetes. The purpose of the court is to cure addicts of their dependencies and reintegrate them into social life through a series of counseling sessions.
Green County Human Services supervisor Bob Gibson said four people are currently enrolled in the program and more will join every month until the program's capacity of about 30 is met.
Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen said the four current participants are probationers, but future enrollees may be referred to the program as part of a suspended sentence. Nolen said enrollees can "graduate" from the program after 300 days but noted that most participants will likely require more time.
"There will be a good outcome and a bad outcome," Bucher explained. "The good outcome may be that they complete the drug court and have to pay a fine, or they don't complete drug court and they're looking at prison time."
Jeb Searls, a probation and parole agent with the state Department of Corrections, said the program will focus on enrolling drug users deemed to be of high risk and high need. While users of drugs like marijuana will be referred to other programs, users of heroin or methamphetamines at risk of prison sentences are the ideal candidates.
Counselor Susan Sebastian said participants will take part in three sessions of group counseling and one session of one-on-one counseling per week, as well as one meeting with case manager Whitney Driver each week. Participants will also be subjected to two random urine analyses each week.
In addition, Sebastian said that encouraging pro-social behaviors by participants - from reconnecting with family members, to attending group meetings, to finding employment - will play a vital role in the recovery process.
"People are hungry for what we have to offer," Sebastian said.
Nolen said failures to comply with requirements will incur sanctions ranging from an in-court apology to jail time, depending on the participant's offense and progress. While Nolen said he expects people to lapse early on in the program, repeated failures to comply will lead to participants' removal from the program.
"We're not here to kick people out, but if they don't want to work on themselves, then we can't help them," Beer said.
The program is paid for by a five-year $122,900 per year grant from the Department of Corrections, as well as an approximately $100,000 grant to treat opioid use, Gibson said.
"It's new for us, but it's not a new program overall," Gibson said. "It's worked in other places and we should be able to make it work here."
Four probationers in the Green County circuit court system met with counselors and attorneys to work to reduce their dependencies on drugs in order to lessen their probation time.
In celebration of the successful launch of the drug court project, Green County Circuit Judge James Beer, one of the project's architects, and nine members of the drug court team met with attorneys and counselors to answer questions and explain the mechanics of the court.
Public defender Jane Bucher said the court subscribes to a disease model of addiction, treating addiction like a treatable illness such as diabetes. The purpose of the court is to cure addicts of their dependencies and reintegrate them into social life through a series of counseling sessions.
Green County Human Services supervisor Bob Gibson said four people are currently enrolled in the program and more will join every month until the program's capacity of about 30 is met.
Green County District Attorney Craig Nolen said the four current participants are probationers, but future enrollees may be referred to the program as part of a suspended sentence. Nolen said enrollees can "graduate" from the program after 300 days but noted that most participants will likely require more time.
"There will be a good outcome and a bad outcome," Bucher explained. "The good outcome may be that they complete the drug court and have to pay a fine, or they don't complete drug court and they're looking at prison time."
Jeb Searls, a probation and parole agent with the state Department of Corrections, said the program will focus on enrolling drug users deemed to be of high risk and high need. While users of drugs like marijuana will be referred to other programs, users of heroin or methamphetamines at risk of prison sentences are the ideal candidates.
Counselor Susan Sebastian said participants will take part in three sessions of group counseling and one session of one-on-one counseling per week, as well as one meeting with case manager Whitney Driver each week. Participants will also be subjected to two random urine analyses each week.
In addition, Sebastian said that encouraging pro-social behaviors by participants - from reconnecting with family members, to attending group meetings, to finding employment - will play a vital role in the recovery process.
"People are hungry for what we have to offer," Sebastian said.
Nolen said failures to comply with requirements will incur sanctions ranging from an in-court apology to jail time, depending on the participant's offense and progress. While Nolen said he expects people to lapse early on in the program, repeated failures to comply will lead to participants' removal from the program.
"We're not here to kick people out, but if they don't want to work on themselves, then we can't help them," Beer said.
The program is paid for by a five-year $122,900 per year grant from the Department of Corrections, as well as an approximately $100,000 grant to treat opioid use, Gibson said.
"It's new for us, but it's not a new program overall," Gibson said. "It's worked in other places and we should be able to make it work here."