Drug Court Overcomes Obstacles, Is Ready to Open : Law: Offenders must undergo treatment, get job counseling and remain clean. Compromise helped in the planning.

A specialized Ventura County drug court that faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the planning stage will open its doors April 18 to addicts who can escape a jail sentence if they work hard to overcome their addictions.

Initially, 60 addicts will be promised dismissal of misdemeanor charges and no jail time if they agree to spend a year undergoing intensive drug treatment, get job counseling and remain drug-free for a significant period of time.

The idea is to break the cycle of repeated arrests and convictions for drug offenders who spend months in jail but often end up back in court because they are still addicted.

Proponents of the drug court also hope to reap a financial benefit by reducing the number of drug-related crimes in the county, such as burglary.

“For every dollar spent on treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, California taxpayers reap $7 in savings, mostly due to reductions in crime and health care costs,” Municipal Court Judge Barry B. Klopfer wrote in a letter to county supervisors.

Drug courts are becoming popular throughout the United States, but it took two years to put Ventura County’s plan together. At one point it appeared the program would not get off the ground, after various agencies accused the district attorney’s office of making the program so restrictive it would be impossible for addicts to complete it successfully.

Eventually prosecutors eased some of their demands, and other members of the planning committee agreed to compromise.

“This looks very good to me, very solid,” said Stephen Kaplan, director of the county’s drug and alcohol programs.

Deputy Public Defender Christina Briles, who along with Kaplan had expressed concerns about how the program was shaping up, now says she has “absolutely no doubt” the court will be a success for many addicts.

“I think the important thing is we get started,” Briles said. “We’re going to see things that don’t work, that are awkward, that need to be changed.”

She added that in the next six months “the most important thing” will be communication.

Drug treatment programs have been in existence for decades. It is, however, a relatively new concept for the criminal justice system to be heavily involved in treatment, as opposed to punishment.

While convicted users now serve mandatory jail sentences, in drug court they would sign a contract that provides for dismissal of the criminal conviction after completion of the treatment program. During that year, participants would be closely supervised by the judge, and successes would be rewarded and problems dealt with in open court.

“The whole idea behind the drug court is you have someone in a position of authority who takes a personal interest in the welfare of the defendant,” Briles said. “Here are people, a lot of whom have absolutely no self-esteem. They wouldn’t feel comfortable having a chat with a grocery clerk, much less with a person in authority. Seeking that approval from the judge is an incentive in itself.”

The program is aimed at people who have at least one prior conviction for being under the influence of an illegal substance, since first-time offenders are eligible for a much more lenient program called diversion, which is basically an education program.

Hard-core addicts also will not be seen in drug court, since they need more than a one-year program to stay off drugs.

“We’re looking for the guy in the middle . . . who has an addiction, who’s had it up to here with the addiction and the criminal process and wants to make a change in their life,” Briles said. “They’ll be motivated to change, and those will be the people who it will mean something to that they made it through the program.”

The committee that formulated Ventura County’s drug court included representatives from Municipal Court, the district attorney’s and public defender’s offices, the probation and sheriff’s departments and mental health and drug treatment programs.

The first sticking point came when prosecutors and the court insisted that addicts plead guilty before being allowed to enter the program. Later, several agencies balked when prosecutors insisted that addicts be kicked out of the program if they test positive for drugs three times during the year or once during the last 90 days of the program.

When it seemed those conditions were going to kill the entire drug court, Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury agreed to wait four weeks into the program before counting the tests against an addict. Other committee members agreed to extend treatment by three months if a participant tested positive during the last three months of the program.

Kaplan said his office will track people who opt not to enter the program and find out why, so the drug court can be altered if necessary to make it more appealing to offenders.

Because county agencies have not been given additional funding to run the program, it will be limited to 60 participants. Briles said the county probably will apply for federal grant money to expand the program.

Also, once the program has a proven track record it might be expanded to include individuals charged with felony drug possession, in addition to those accused of being under the influence of a drug, which is a misdemeanor.