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Show JANUARY 17, 2001 WASATCH eae County rey Says New Program Will Treat Addiction in ‘Non-Adversarial’ Way magine a scene where applause I breaks out in a courtroom as a offender explains is convinced jail is their situation in front of a judge. no match. “The “The person is person is able to ‘have their life back to have their again.” manager to set up a treatDee court will ment program. All clients back again” work as a collabo-. must actively participate in a ration between 4th treatment program throughDEREK PULLAN, District Court, out their stay. Wasatch County Attorney Wasatch County “The process is very Drug and Alcohol intensive,” said Pullan who Treatment, the Wasatch County compared it to running the mile. Attorney’s Office and Wasatch County Clients go through phases -during Public Defenders. Presiding over the treatment, graduating from one to cases will be district court judge and another at an administrator’s discreformer County Attorney, Steven tion. They are required to submit ‘Hansen — a choice Pullan said he was three drug tests per week, need 24 very pleased with. “I know he has a lot valid urinalysis tests to graduate, and on his plate,” Pullan said. “I’m just very will take 64 by the end of the program. thrilled.” | “That's remarkable,” Pullan added. Persons eligible for the court must “And. in all likelihood there will be be first-time drug offenders with a more than that. It gives them an non-violent history. The idea of the accountability. g It’s likely to happen in Wasatch County as a coalition of offices launches an ambitious so called “Drug Court,” which promises a progressive approach to dealing with the age-old problem of addiction. The program, unveiled anne a Friday press conference, eschews incarceration in favor of collaborative treatment to rehabilitate up to 40 local drug users. In successful cases, said applause is common in court for addicts who announce _ they’ve _ remained “clean” over time. | “I have a lot of respect for anybody that chooses to deal with a private problem in a public way, but it works,” said County Attorney Derek Pullan, who first introduced the drug court idea during his campaign for office. Now, the system modeled after the Wasatch County -money from the legislature, we felt Commissioners recently handed he’d put it on the front burner.” Dan Matthews, head of the Jordanelle Special Service District the reins back to county Planning DirectorAl Mickelson. — “Mickelson is now in charge of the new district, which lies north of. supervised by Director Sharon ~ QSSD) and former county attorney, will play a role in the North Village, too. Matthews will speed up the process by. providing data collected by _JSSD regarding utilities and - structure, according to Kohler. . Atkinson. Commissioner Mike Kohler — . 1 Col oe SRR nose es coeerenmabattganenectir a repre aeeoneidanpnermaren ie eee fh eS Oias avVIAIN SEREP LT teem ae etna PN WASATCH BS eM yar) es Gt os PUBLIC 24,000 READERS!!! EAS the fact its message of treatment and counseling runs counter to the nation’s War on Drugs. Officials say it is 10 times cheaper to treat addicts than put them _ behind bars, and the recidivism rate for graduates is eight times lower. In Utah, drug court has become a statewide Leavitt makers lion for help its phenomenon. Gov. Mike has recommended that lawapprove an additional $3.5 milthe program, which should genesis in Wasatch County. “It’s one of the things I’m most pleased about in terms of what this office has been able to accomplish,” Pullan said. COUNTY io. WAY reANE 7T EES s AE Tecleniol eh 654-7177 mee mm Charleston Town Hall wn Board meets Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. DANIEL 25 North Mavi: Heb 654-1515 City Town foe meets Wednesday, ay ~ 654-9900 543227. | » “Dan won’t be. the planner by any... circulation and subscription base in Wasatch County. Vasate ing momentum: despite “2 infra- — Ea said Mickelson’s involvement would. means, he’ll just’ get. the bumbers: Kohler ae 3 i -ensure the district's completion is s ie 7 “The judge, instead of calling a case number, addresses members by their first name,” Pullan said. “It makes the proceedings conversational.” The drug court philosophy is gain- pare said Kohler. “Considering the need for die, and. the CALENDAR and he is most skilled with people,” MEETINGS Special Service District is a hulk of a horse to han-. formerly Planning Assistant suc. in front of the judge. CHARLESTON prompt, allowing for the county’s new Utah Valley State College campus setup to be successful. “Al carries more weight with the legislature, which will expedite plans, KIRSTEN SHAW COURIER STAFF _ Heber, coun Tskes Over North Village Planning— The North Village But the key to Sdcue cess, Pullan explained, is its nonadversarial . methods. Instead of threats, intimidation and alienation, likely to occur in a jail setting, everyone involved works on establishing _ trust. Clients submit weekly progress reports to the court and appear often Tse Mickelson system is to wipe out repeat offenses by establishing clearly defined performance measures, then making sure the. participants comply. Time commitment for drug court is a minimum of one year. - Pullan will screen cases for eligibility before sending clients to the court. Once there, participants able immediately receive their first urinalysis followed by an appointment with a case life sea clon! ee rat theyre drug successful Scotirts? in Salt Lake and Utah counties is ready to tackle substance abuse along the Wasatch Back. “As opposed to being incarcerated, going back to jail and then back to drugs, the goal (of drug court) is to make people crime free, drug free and back into the system,” said Pullan who STAFF EB multiple —A3 The Drug Court To Order DEREK JENSEN. COURIER COUNTY COURIER |