Treatment, drug alternative courts get $37,000 grant

The Piedmont Judicial Circuit’s four Alternative or Accountability Courts were awarded a $37,000 grant from the state legislature last week to expand services for mental health and drug offenders in Barrow, Banks and Jackson counties.

The courts, which include three Drug Courts and one (mental health) Treatment Court, are less than two years old, but have already drawn state-wide attention for their low cost and effectiveness.

“These courts pay for themselves; they are cost effective; they work; and, they make meaningful changes in lives,” said Piedmont Circuit Superior Court Judge Currie Mingledorff, who presides over the four Accountability Courts and is excited about their potential. “These people need treatment, not punishment. We believe in accountability and we give the participants the tools they need to become accountable.”

Calling Accountability Courts “a hot button topic” and “maybe the only thing Republicans and Democrats agree on right now,” Mingledorff said state and national attention is being paid to what the courts accomplish in terms of treatment and reduced recidivism. The Piedmont Circuit grant is part of a $350,000 program to expand the Alternative/Accountability Courts system in GA, an effort spearheaded by Gov. Nathan Deal.

“Warehousing non-violent offenders who are mentally ill or addicted to drugs does not protect public safety,” Mingledorff said. “Jails are the state’s new asylums. They cost the taxpayers a lot of money and offer no return on the investment.”

In contrast, Accountability Courts offer non-violent drug or mental health offenders the opportunity to enroll in an intensive 18 month-two year treatment program, rather than spend time in prison or jail. Participants must commit to regular court sessions, meetings with treatment coordinators and a case manager, frequent random drug and alcohol tests, unannounced visits from a probation officer, curfews, group meetings and nurse and M.D. visits. They also must continue to work or pursue vocational training and take care of their families.

“We apply incentives and sanctions and keep the focus on gains being made,” Mingledorff said. “Using positive reinforcement and rewards, along with sanctions for violations, nets positive results. We keep people in treatment while they live their lives in the real world. They learn new coping skills and we give them new tools. Most of the time it works.”
Barrow Count Probate Judge Tammy Brown supervises the (mental health) Treatment Court. She calls Accountability Courts “thinking outside the box in the judicial system.”

“This is not hug-a-thug,” she said. “This is hard work. But, by breaking the cycle of drug and alcohol dependency and teaching participants the importance of staying on their medications, lives are changed - not only our participants’ lives, but their families’, too. There is a powerful ripple effect.”

In Barrow County, the cost of keeping one person in jail is $50 per day; the cost of incarcerating a prisoner in GA is $18,000 per year. So, both Mingledorff and Brown agree, reducing the recidivism rate for the 49 Drug Court and 19 Treatment Court participants in the Piedmont Circuit will save the tax-payers money.

Taylor Jones, the Piedmont Circuit’s new Accountability Courts coordinator, said funds from the $37,000 grant will be used to help participants in Drug and (mental health) Treatment Court pay application fees or deposits for long term residential treatment facilities; buy gas cards to pay for transportation to treatment appointments and court sessions; pay education fees, like those for GED testing or technical school application; emergency rent or utility assistance; treatment curriculum and materials; treatment group materials; and, incentives for participants who are doing well, such as groceries or toiletries. Grant funds can also be used to pay for participant drug testing and administrative overhead.

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Treatment, drug alternative courts get $37,000 grant