Clinton County (Ohio) Drug Court Already Has Reasons To Celebrate National Drug Court Month

WILMINGTON, OHIO—May 2015—The treatment team for the participants in the six-month-old Clinton County Drug Court already has reasons to celebrate National Drug Court Month this month, according to Clinton County Common Pleas Court Judge, John W. (Tim) Rudduck who helped establish the local court in the fall of 2014.

The court has proven a positive alternative for a growing number of participants and it was recently recommended for final certification by the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Commission on Specialized Dockets when it meets again June 12, Judge Rudduck said.

Drug courts have been around for 25 years and Judge Rudduck became convinced in 2014 that it was worth trying to combat the growing number of drug addiction crimes and fatal overdoses in the county.

The Ohio Department of Health just reported that Clinton County has the sixth highest per-capita rates of unintentional drug overdose death rates among Ohio’s 88 counties. There were 16 unintentional drug overdose deaths in Clinton County in 2013, the latest year for which data is available.

Judge Rudduck initiated the application process mid-2014 and the innovative docket won preliminary certification in November. “During our site visit in April, the Ohio Supreme Court representative was impressed by the collaboration of the treatment team members and with the community representation and participation at one of our twice-monthly status review hearings for participants,” Judge Rudduck said. “She told those in attendance that our court is performing like one that is been in business for several years as opposed to one just starting up.”

More than 20 defendants have been referred to the program--mostly by the Clinton County Public Defender’s Office--and there are currently seven who officially started the 18-month long program and are progressing with varying degrees of success.

Many of the others that have been referred to the program are still being considered for acceptance and the judge thinks the program can handle up to 40 participants at one time.

Judge Rudduck named the program the "You-Turn" Recovery Docket because the goal is to have participants turn their lives around by providing them an opportunity to address their substance dependency/addiction issues with support from the judge, probation officers, substance abuse counselors and others.

“Though there has been a lot of interest among offenders, the program is not for everybody,” Judge Rudduck said. “The docket is a highly structured program that requires responsibility and demands accountability from participants. They have to be willing to admit to their addiction and be willing to comply with a highly-structured program that calls for frequent drug tests and encounters with the treatment team--which includes myself, local mental health and drug treatment providers and our probation department.”

The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) celebrates National Drug Court Month in May to encourage these specialized courts to celebrate successes and to share them with the communities they impact.

The community support and interest shown for the local drug court over the last year indicates it is needed and wanted. “Starting with the public meeting last summer that was attended by more than 100 people interested in confronting the opiate epidemic, the support has been overwhelming,” Judge Rudduck said. “Since that time, we have talked to the faith-based community, job-training centers and educational organizations and others to begin laying a future foundation of programs for those currently in the docket and those who participate in the future.”

Members of the drug court treatment team are also participating in a local coalition formed to combat the opiate epidemic in the county, the judge said.

Since most of the active participants in the local drug court are addicted to heroin, the most telling statistic might be that none have tested positive for heroin since starting the program, the judge said.

The Clinton County Drug Court is not a separate court but a specialized docket within the framework of the Clinton County Common Pleas Court. The goals of the program are to divert these defendants into court-monitored treatment and supervision that reduces the need for them to be incarcerated.

Judge Rudduck agrees with the NADP’s assertion that drug courts demonstrate that a combination of accountability and treatment can transform the lives of seriously addicted offenders. Treating chronically addicted offenders in drug court can save vast amounts of money, continue to protect public safety, reunite families and significantly reduce crime and drug abuse in the community, the judge believes.

To ensure accountability, participants are regularly and randomly tested for drug use, required to appear frequently in court for the judge to review their progress, rewarded for doing well and sanctioned for not living up to their obligations.

“Research continues to show that drug courts work better than jail or prison, better than probation, and better than treatment alone,” Judge Rudduck said. “We know overcoming addiction is tough and admittedly a few of our participants have had minor setbacks. But we deal with those on an individual basis with sanctions that do not automatically mean jail time. It is most important that participants be honest with the treatment team in order for them to succeed.”

The judge encourages those interested in the court to attend the participants’ status review hearings in the Common Pleas Court at 1:30 p.m. the first and third Fridays of each month.

The hearings are less formal than typical court proceedings and the judge encourages comments and observations from those attending at the end of every session.

According to the NADCP:

·       Over the past 25 years, drug courts have served more than 1.3 million seriously addicted people.

·       There are now more than 2,900 drug courts nationwide and they are located in every U.S. state and territory, as well as 23 other countries.

·       Drug courts now serve 145,000 seriously addicted, prison-bound individuals a year.

·       Drug Courts annually refer more people to treatment than any other system in America.

·       Drug courts save money, cut crime and serve veterans in need of substance abuse and mental health treatment.

·       Drug courts are a critical component of criminal justice reform.

·       Drug courts are the nation’s most successful criminal justice program.

·       Drug courts have bipartisan support in Congress.

·       Drug courts save up to $27 for every $1 invested.

·       Drug courts save about $13,000 for every individual they serve.

·       75% of drug court graduates are never arrested again.

·       The most recent Government Accountability Office report (2012) found that drug courts save money and reduce substance abuse and crime

·       Drug courts are the nation's most effective strategy in reducing recidivism-- especially among drug-addicted offenders with long criminal histories.

·       Today, more than 2,900 Drug Courts are in operation in all 50 states and U.S. territories successfully treating 142,000 drug-addicted individuals a year.

·       Since 1989, drug courts have saved more than 1.3 million lives and billions of tax dollars.

-Drug Court-