From Deseret News archives:
Cuts made to successful Utah County 'drug court' program
State changes funding for sending first-time felons to 'drug court'
"How many clean days?" asked Rosie Jensen, drug-court coordinator for the Utah County Division of Substance Abuse.
"Three-hundred and ninety-five," Diamond replied. "Drug court was the best thing that ever happened to me. It completely changed my life."
"We love you a lot," her family called from the audience. "We're so glad to have her back in our family."
Fellow drug-court graduate Josh Parkin told the audience he's been clean for 370 days.
"I want to thank everybody in the program and in treatment," he said. "Life's better today than I ever thought it could be."
His wife, parents, in-laws and friends stood to congratulate him.
"I want to thank Judge Taylor and Rosie for giving me my husband and the children's father back," said Parkin's wife, Shari.
It's responses like these that make Utah County prosecutors, defense attorneys and substance-abuse treatment providers wonder why the state is pulling the funding for this specific drug-court population.
The program
Across Utah, there are 22 different drug courts that work with addicts, requiring them to undergo daily or weekly urinalysis, classes, counseling and weekly or monthly check-ins with a judge.
Utah spends around $4.5 million annually, although the state could easily spend double that to treat more clients, said Brent Kelsey, assistant director of the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.
Utah County's court has been in action for nearly a dozen years, catering to the first-time offenders like Diamond and Parkin, who committed serious crimes but are not yet deeply entrenched in criminal behaviors.
"We thought it was best to take first-time offenders," said Sherry Ragan, a deputy Utah County attorney who previously worked with drug court. "This way, we catch people before they commit new crimes."
When an individual gets slapped with a felony drug-related charge, be it possession, use, theft of drugs or money to buy them, or even forging prescriptions, they can be screened for drug court. Violent offenders are not considered.
If approved, the client pleads guilty. But the plea is held in abeyance, meaning that if they complete drug court, the guilty plea is never actually entered, the case is dismissed and the charge can eventually be expunged from their records. But if they commit new crimes or don't abide by the treatment rules, they fail drug court and are sentenced on their charges.
