In Mercer County, West Virginia, a team of judges presides over Mercer County Juvenile Drug Court, a program designed to keep troubled teenagers out of jail while simultaneously pointing them in right direction.

A Nov. 6 article in the Princeton Times provided the following details about the innovative effort:

The coercive, community corrections alternative to detention time requires defendants to plead guilty to their non-violent, drug-related offenses and consent to face time in a correctional facility if they're expelled from the program.

Juvenile Drug Court, which accepts defendants ages 10-17, is built on the idea that drug-related crimes can be prevented if teens kick their drug habits while they're still young enough to plot a different future. ...

In order to get into the Teen Drug Court program, a defendant must first be referred to the treatment team with a documented history of drug use or abuse. From there, the team, driven by Teen Drug Court Coordinator Tina Rose, examines the defendant's alleged offenses to ensure the defendant is not accused of a violent crime or one that involves a sex-related motive. ...

Each participant starts the four-phase program seeing the judge and Southern Highlands counselor at least once weekly. In addition, Rose makes one scheduled visit to the juvenile's home each week, and she makes it a point to drop in unannounced once to check on the participants' progress when they aren't expecting an evaluation.

Labels: courts, juvenile_justice_system

Posted By: Aspen/CRC