Drug courts greatly needed

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Erie County Drug Court known as the SMART Program of Erie County (Support & Management for Addiction with Recovery & Treatment). Erie County, like every other court in Ohio, sees evidence of the substance abuse epidemic every day. The drug epidemic has resulted in devastating consequences for drug users, victims, families, law enforcement and our surrounding community. Specialized dockets such as those commonly referred to as "drug courts" are meant to focus on treatment of individuals for their substance use disorders as opposed to continued incarceration. By entering the program, participants make one of the biggest decisions of their lives to join the recovery community and seek to end to their addiction thus improving the quality of their lives and furthering the public's security. The implementation of drug courts is an intense process overseen by the Ohio Supreme Court. Ultimately, a specialized docket must be certified by the Supreme Court. Erie County achieved its final certification on Nov. 8, 2021. The SMART Program, Erie County's Specialized Drug Court, has been developed to address the needs of high-risk, high-need offenders. Thanks to Lee Jacobs, the Drug Court Coordinator, the program runs smoothly by her efforts and continued involvement with the Supreme Court in order to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court's requirements. Ms. Jacobs comes to the court with a psychology background and previous experience with counseling and recovery services and she has a sincere desire to help the participants in the program succeed. In order to receive the certification, Ms. Jacobs had to submit an application, undergo a site visit and provide specific program materials in response to certification standards that went into effect in January 2014. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor congratulated the Erie County Common Pleas Court for receiving final certification. "Specialized dockets divert offenders toward criminal justice initiatives that employ tools and tailored services to treat and rehabilitate the offender so they can become productive members of society," said Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor. "Studies have shown this approach works by reducing recidivism while saving tax dollars." Specialized dockets are courts that are dedicated to specific types of offenses or offenders and use a combination of different techniques for holding offenders accountable while also addressing the underlying causes of their behavior. There are more than 210 specialized dockets in Ohio courts that deal with issues such as: Drugs and alcohol Mental health Domestic violence Human Trafficking The standards provide a minimum level of uniform practices for specialized dockets throughout Ohio, and allow local courts to innovate and tailor to meet their community's needs and resources. The certification requirements include establishing eligibility requirements, evaluating effectiveness of the specialized docket, and assembling a treatment team for implementing daily operations of the specialized docket. The team can include licensed treatment providers, law enforcement, court personnel and is headed by the specialized docket judge. In Erie County, the prosecutor's office and the public defender's office fully support the drug court program and are a part of the treatment team along with myself, the program coordinator, adult probation staff, representatives from Bayshore Counseling, Firelands Counseling & Recovery, LCADA, the Health Department as well as a Peer Support Representative from SARCC (Sandusky Artisans Recovery Community Center). The Commission on Specialized Dockets has 22 members who advise the Supreme Court and its staff regarding the promotion of statewide rules and uniform standards concerning specialized dockets in Ohio courts; the development and delivery of specialized docket services to Ohio courts; and the creation of training programs for judges and court personnel. The commission makes all decisions regarding final certification. The program is completely voluntary and participants of the program proceed through inpatient/outpatient treatment, weekly sober support, meetings, random drug screening and weekly in-person meetings in open court with the treatment team. The treatment team meets once a week to review each participant's progress. Incentives/rewards are given out for successful weeks and sanctions can be imposed if the participant is not meeting program requirements. Rewards can include payment of court costs, other expenses including payment of fines, license reinstatement costs, food cards, gas cards, miscellaneous gift cards or simply praise from the treatment team, other participants and the judge. Sanctions can include increased drug screening; a review of the level of treatment care; house arrest, and jail. Relapse is also a part of the program as each participant has good weeks and bad weeks. The treatment team works together to formulate plans to help individuals get back on track for successful recovery. I would like to thank the many people involved in the SMART Program as well as the ADAMHS Board of Erie County for making it a success. Continued hard work by all will be needed to have continued success. THIS ARTICLE IS DEDICATED TO AARON KUBAS AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO ADDICTION. Judge Tygh ToneErie County Common Pleas Court If you want to submit a Local Voices column, please email it to brandonaddeo@tandemnetwork.com. Columns should be 500-750 words and include the writer's headshot, or other photo.