Going through this court could be a good thing for addicts

(Editor's Note: This is the first of a series of articles looking at the drug court program in Livingston County.)

Do you do drugs? Ever been arrested for possessing drugs, using drugs, selling drugs? How about alcohol, drink too much and find yourself getting into trouble with the law?

Whether you have or haven't, there are many in Livingston County who have drug or alcohol addictions and are finding themselves in trouble with the law. A solution to stop getting into legal entanglements is to get into the county's Drug Court program.

“It's really an opportunity for individuals, through intensive supervision and probation, to improve their lives,” says Circuit Judge Jennifer Bauknecht.

Bauknecht is part of a team that includes Livingston County State's Attorney Randy Yedinak and Chief Public Defender Marinna Metoyer, as well representatives from IHR, Livingston County Probation and Pontiac and Dwight police departments.

“It's kind of a reform court of sorts and that we're trying to stamp out what's causing the criminal behavior,” Yedinak says of the drug court program. He adds that it is for the portion of the county population that commit petty crimes because of an addiction.

The adoption of the drug court can be linked to the election that brought Yedinak to office. Part of his platform in his run for office against Seth Uphoff was pushing for a drug court. Uphoff was quite against such a program.

“It was something that the prior state's attorney was opposed to and something that I was in favor of,” Yedinak said in a recent interview. “At that time, if I remember correctly, you had to have the state's attorney's consent and approval to have a drug court. That's something I certainly campaigned on and, yes, in favor of. We were able to get it up and running once I got elected and we've been off to the races ever since.”

The program was certified in March of 2018 after having been in operation the previous half year, according to Bauknecht.

“Once we had the approval of the state's attorney, it was not hard in terms of getting the team together,” Bauknecht said. “We did have to go through a certification process. That was a little taxing. It's a certified program and there are parameters that we have to meet to become certified.”

The team that is currently in place includes Bauknecht, Yedinak, Metoyer, Pontiac Police Chief Dan Davis, Dwight Police Chief Mike Nolan, probation coordinator Heidi Zeidenstein and Teresa Diemer of IHR. There are others within these departments that also provide support.

There was a rather intensive training program to get the program going. This included visiting a drug court elsewhere (the Livingston County team went to Kendall County) and a visit by others to Pontiac.

Drug court is a five-phase program that requires a strong commitment from everyone involved. Clients to the program appear weekly to every other week to once a month, depending on the phase he or she is in.

“When they come to court, we first get together as a team outside of their presence and discuss how they are doing — if they've had any problems, they've been drug tested several times a week, they have to go to appointments,” Bauknecht says. “If they are doing well, they've made all their appointments, they've had clean drug screens and otherwise in compliance with the phase they are in, we have rewards for them.”

They call this an incentive and the rewards will vary. Bauknecht says that it's Zeidenstein who comes up with a gift bag that clients are able to select a gift. Usually these are gift cards or something smaller in nature.

“There are some higher level (gifts),” Bauknecht says. “They could get $500 off their probation fees. That's a pretty big win on their part.”

It's also not always about winning. Sometimes the clients find themselves not meeting the required standard.

“If they aren't doing well, we do sanctions,” Bauknecht adds. “There's a series of sanctions so we don't immediately send people to jail. We try to do therapeutic adjustments, address something in treatment or have them do some type of assignment.”

“We try to mold the sanction to the behavior,” Yedinak notes. “We're looking at what they did, the severity of it, if this is the first time they've done it (whatever the infraction), and then the judge, with the input of the team, ultimately decides what the sanction is going to be.”

There are many types of sanctions that can take effect, from soft to quite severe.

“A lot of times we have a lot of success with the sanctions,” Bauknecht says. “Maybe they have to go back to treatment, or go more often to treatment. A lot of times that is enough for people to reflect on what they've done and how they can make better decisions.

“It's a long-term program, we expect people are going to make mistakes. We're hoping they are learning from those mistakes and a lot times we are seeing that demonstrated in their behavior.”

“As they progress through the phases, we expect them to utilize the tools that they're learning in treatment,” Metoyer adds. “If they aren't utilizing those tools, then a lot of times they are going to be subject to those sanctions as opposed to getting those incentives.”

Bauknecht points out that jail time is a last resort. Metoyer says that should that happen, it is another judge who hands out the sentence.

The client is also involved in the process; he or she does have a say in the proceedings.

“What I like a lot about the specialty courts, and especially this one, is that the judge typically lets everyone have a voice on whether there should be an incentive or a sanction,” Metoyer says. “Sometimes we have debates. The judge is the one who ultimately makes the decision, but she lets everybody share their opinion before she makes a decision.”

Drug court is held every Thursday at the Law and Justice Center. Bauknecht says there are currently eight or nine in the program.

“In the beginning, a lot of times people come to us and they're pretty much at rock bottom and they're looking at prison, so they want to turn their lives around,” Bauknecht says. “It's a voluntary program so we can't force anybody to be in drug court. They work hard, and as they progress through the phases and they see they can lead a productive, substance-free life and maybe progress to the next phase. As they do that, we ask them to do more things — find a place to live, find permanent full-time employment.

“Ultimately, the goal in the end is for them to obviously be drug free, but also to have stable housing, employment.”

“As we go through the five phases, first we want to focus on treatment and sobriety,” Bauknecht adds. “Then we want to focus on stable housing so that they can support themselves in a stable place to live, a job, maybe taking care of their kids, depending on where they're at.”

Yedinak points put that instead of warehousing nonviolent drug offenders in prison, a better way needs to take place, which is what drug court and other specialty courts are for. These are designed to help people become clean and sober.

A success story mentioned is that of a client who has taken a position at IHR.

“I don't think it's something you look at from total numbers, it's an individual thing,” Yedinak says. “When you look at this young woman who works at IHR who has completely turned her life around, (she is) a tax-paying, law-abiding citizen who has given back to that same community she was a part of.”

“Another thing, she is raising her child,” Bauknecht notes. “She's not costing the taxpayers here anything, she's paying her rent.

“We have many stories like that — people who have graduated, maintained their sobriety, have a good job, have their children living with them, raising their children. Not only does the community benefit because they are a tax-paying citizen, but also in terms of them supporting themselves and their family. They are contributing to society, as well.”

There have been many comments in movies and TV shows and other places in life that indicate things aren't given, things are earned. This program is like that — a client earns his or her success.

“A lot of times, people come into the program to avoid going to prison,” says Bauknecht. “That's the reality. Although, it would be easier to go to prison — do your time and get out.

“This program is typically 20-24 months. It's very intensive in terms of reporting and services. As you go along, not everybody succeeds. Some people do well for awhile and relapse, get back on and relapse again. Some people just can't get off the drugs in the beginning.

“Everybody comes from a different place and we try to tailor what we're doing in the program to their individual needs,” Bauknecht continues. “It just doesn't always work. … Once we reach a point where it's clear they're not changing their behavior and they're not willing to stay away from drugs, at that point we have no choice but to terminate.”

Accountability is a main factor in achieving success or finding failure. It's noted that clients report to IHR or probation, they get tested three times a week in the beginning and will be tested randomly as they progress through the phases.

Clients advance through the phases by meeting certain requirements, which culminates in a written application for advancement.

Clients are also under the watchful eye of other clients and agents of the team, including the police.

“They can still live their lives, but we absolutely know about it,” Yedinak says.

“We know what's going on,” Bauknecht adds.

The goal of the program to find success by becoming clean and sober. It's something that clients and officials come together on as they help each other through the process.

“As a team, we all want them to succeed. That's why we sit together as a team in the jury box, clapping for them, encouraging them,” Metoyer says.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Going through drug court could be a good thing for addicts