The Richland County commissioners issued a proclamation Thursday naming the month of May as National Drug Court Month.
The county Drug Court was first established in 1997 by Judge James Henson. Henson recently retired and he has since passed the reins to Judge Brent Robinson.
Robinson noted that the Drug Court is the largest drug treatment program in the county and maintains close to a 70 percent success rate.
While there is no one answer to treatment, the Drug Court is willing to try multiple programs, Robinson said, in order to help an individual make a full recovery. “There is no one single answer for each individual addict. We try every known treatment technique that we can,” he said.
The collaboration of many local organizations and agencies is crucial in helping make the Drug Court successful, Robinson said. He listed New Beginnings Recovery Services, Volunteers of America, the Mansfield Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, along with community-based corrections facilities as partners of the Drug Court.
“It’s a community effort, which is what this problem is ultimately going to take to solve,” Robinson commented.
Admitting individuals into the Drug Court, “just makes more sense,” said Chief Probation Officer Dave Leitenberger, instead of sending an addict to prison. He noted that nine out of every ten dollars are saved by having an individual in Drug Court rather than prison.
He further stated, “At the rate people are graduating from Drug Court, that’s another person who will be out of the system permanently. Putting people in prison shows that almost half will probably come back in the system within the first year and two-thirds within three years.”
On Thursday, May 15, the Drug Court will hold a graduation ceremony for individuals who have successfully completed the program.
National Drug Court Month is coordinated by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. This year’s theme is “Celebrating 25 years of Drug Courts.” For more information, visit the website.
