Early Start: Treatment, Not Jail, in Drug Cases

As officials throughout the state scramble for the July launch of a voter-mandated program requiring treatment for many drug offenders, Orange County says it is already prepared for the massive undertaking.

Courtrooms in Santa Ana and Fullerton are sending some drug offenders to counseling more than two months before the changes required under Proposition 36 take effect, officials said.

One reason for the early launch is to avoid inundating treatment programs with offenders in July. Also, many attorneys are seeking to delay cases until the law takes effect, officials said.

“We’d go under if we waited until July,” said Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald P. Kreber, who from his Santa Ana courtroom has sentenced more than 100 drug offenders to treatment programs. “We’d have been inundated with cases. We’d have chaos. This helps treatment programs and the courts get ready.”

Proposition 36, which 61% of voters favored, would shift many drug offenders--including those convicted of possessing, using or transporting drugs for personal use--from prisons to probation and treatment.

The change could be profound because one in three of the state’s 162,000 prisoners is serving time for a drug-related crime.

Orange County’s early start in March followed four months of planning by county health, probation, court, district attorney, public defender and law enforcement officials.

The hardest part, officials say, will be finding enough providers to handle the 3,500 to 4,500 drug offenders expected to seek treatment annually in Orange County.

“We have a concern as to the number of programs, but there’s a lot of interest,” said John Bowater, Orange County’s chief deputy probation officer.

In Los Angeles County, officials say they expect to divert up to 20,000 additional drug offenders each year into treatment programs.

“It’s a monumental undertaking,” said Los Angeles County Public Defender Michael P. Judge, who serves on planning groups gearing up for the changes required under Proposition 36, which was passed by voters in November. “Even after the deadline, it’s going to be a work in progress. It could take years before all the issues are eventually settled.”

For the past five months, officials throughout California have tried to figure out how to identify, monitor and treat the tens of thousands of drug offenders who will now qualify for services.

Proposition 36 will not change the treatment system, commonly called “drug diversion,” that California courts have long offered first-time offenders. Instead, it will offer a second chance for offenders who have already utilized first-time-offender counseling.

Orange County officials have not yet determined how many additional treatment programs they will need. By starting the program early, officials said, they hope to gauge the need and identify possible problems.

“There will be some minor glitches, but I don’t think anyone will be left behind who shouldn’t be,” said Tom Havlena, senior assistant public defender.

Nearly every part of the criminal justice system is affected. In Los Angeles County, for example, 30 existing judges eventually will be trained and designated to handle Proposition 36 drug offender cases. Probation officers, who monitor about 65,000 probationers in the county, are gearing up to absorb as many as 14,000 additional cases.

One of the biggest problems bedeviling L.A. County officials is finding enough qualified drug treatment providers to meet the expected need.

Drug Testing Isn’t Funded--a Red Flag

In Orange County, CEO Michael Schumacher is overseeing the allocation of the state money. The bulk of the nearly $8 million expected the first year will go to state-approved treatment programs and for hiring probation officers to monitor drug offenders’ progress.

A potential problem is the new law’s restriction against using any Proposition 36 money on drug testing for offenders in treatment programs. By most accounts, drug testing plays a vital role because it identifies addicts who relapse while rewarding those who remain sober.

“We believe testing is critical to a successful treatment program,” said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan, who serves on a local task force grappling with the new law.

Tynan said judges, probation officials and treatment counselors feel so strongly about the need for drug testing that they are drafting state legislation to augment Proposition 36 funds with testing money.

During one recent Drug Court graduation in Los Angeles County, the defendants who completed the treatment course spoke of their gratitude for being given an option other than incarceration.

“It saved my life,” said Luis Ruiz, a 32-year-old construction worker. “In fact, before [Drug Court], I wasn’t really living, I had no life. I was just existing one day to the next.”

In theory, Proposition 36 would give thousands of other drug defendants a similar opportunity. Whether they will get it is something judges, attorneys, health officials and others are waiting to see.

“It’s definitely a different approach to the war on drugs,” Tynan said. “We’re dealing with a lot of unknowns and a lot of uncertainties.”