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Drug Courts Facing Loss of Federal Money: Chief Justice Lobbies for Boost in State Funds

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Owen Covington, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Jan. 31--FRANKFORT -- State government needs to step up and increase funding for Kentucky's drug courts, the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court said Monday.

Chief Justice Joseph Lambert lobbied for $10.4 million over the next two years to maintain and expand the drug court program -- funding that will actually save the state money in the long run by helping to rehabilitate drug offenders, he said.

The additional dollars are needed because Kentucky will be losing a significant portion of federal funds for the program over the next two years, Lambert said.

"Drug courts ... save money for the people of Kentucky, and they restore people to productivity," Lambert told a House budget subcommittee.

Since the state's first drug court kicked off in Jefferson County in 1990, the program has expanded to 38 sites, including Daviess and surrounding counties.

Individuals convicted of nonviolent drug offenses can be eligible for drug court, which combines counseling with mandatory drug testing and professional development.

The program has relied in part on federal funding and grants, Lambert said, which will expire and leave a $3.8 million funding gap during the next two years.

"We have now reached a point whereby many of our federal grants that were start-up grants and so forth have come to an end," Lambert said.

In his budget, Gov. Ernie Fletcher has allotted nearly $3.4 million to help replace lost federal money. Fletcher has also said that the state will make treatment and rehabilitation a key component of its efforts to fight drugs.

But Lambert asked for an additional $1.2 million to help sustain existing drug courts and $5.4 million to add 20 additional drug court sites that will serve 42 counties.

"The only answer to the use of drug courts is incarceration, and as we all know, that is a very expensive proposition and is often counterproductive," he said.

The Administrative Office of the Courts estimates that it costs about $3,000 per year for a person to participate in drug court, compared to the $17,000 it costs to incarcerate the same person annually.

So far, nearly 1,400 people have graduated from drug courts, which has meant an estimated savings of $19.5 million in incarceration costs for the state, Lambert said.

In Daviess County, more than 160 people have graduated from drug court, which is overseen by Daviess Circuit Judge Tom Castlen, since the program began in 2000.

"We want to expand our drug courts as nearly as possible throughout Kentucky," Lambert said.

The Office of Drug Control Policy, which funds drug court programs in Hancock, McLean, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties, has requested $2 million from the state's general fund and from coal severance tax revenues to continue funding those programs.

"We're coming for the purpose of asking the committee to make an investment for the continuation of drug courts so we can continue saving money for the people of Kentucky," Lambert said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

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Source: Messenger-Inquirer

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