Officials trying to save drug court

By Steven Kreytak

Travis County was once quite proud of its drug diversion court, the second in the state when it was established in 1993. But several of the county's felony judges say the court, which gives addicts the chance to escape a felony charge by submitting to a yearlong, court-based treatment program, has suffered from inattention over the years.

A 2009 outside review found that drug court participants had a rearrest rate similar to that of addicts who declined to enter the program. Another review a year later found the court had not been operating according to the latest research and detailed 45 specific shortcomings.

Now, county officials have revamped the court's leadership and are implementing research-proven best practices for drug courts, of which there are now thousands nationwide. Judges say the changes will save millions by making a dent in the number of people whose addictions repeatedly push them into the criminal justice system and ultimately into costly jail and prison stays.

"Drug court can make more of an impact on this community than anything else we do," said state District Judge Karen Sage, who with fellow Judge Brenda Kennedy has begun presiding over drug court sessions, replacing longtime Magistrate Joel Bennett, who retired in July.

"Whether we are (stopping) ... a 17-year-old from going into a life of crime," Sage said, "or we are stopping the 50-year-old who has been in a life of crime for half of those 50 years, it is a critical program."

The changes are being administered by Geraldine Nagy, the county's pretrial services and probation department director, who began overseeing drug court in November. As she did with the probation department several years ago, Nagy is making changes to let the voluminous research that has been conducted on drug courts nationwide drive how Travis County's court is run.

That is why she recently secured $176,000 in county funding for three additional chemical dependency counselors who would work solely with drug court participants. They will provide intensive outpatient treatment and replace the 11 outside treatment providers who currently service drug court clients.

Nagy said bringing all treatment in-house would allow court personnel to tailor the counseling to criminal participants, and she noted that research shows drug courts with two or fewer treatment providers perform better than those with more providers.

$2.4 million in savings

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Officials trying to save drug court