Drug Court Observations

Blount County Drug Court is a very beneficial program that teaches its clients helpful and useful techniques. It allows the clients to pursue the help they need in order to benefit the society. The purpose of the program is to educate, treat, and prepare the client to return to the community a “clean” person. This Drug Court has so far benefited each participant in the program.

The Blount County Drug Court program is a very professionally run organization. All the people who are involved appear to take the program seriously and consider this as a step toward having a professional career. Judge Thomas, the clerk, the Public Defender, the District Attorney and his assistant, and the Drug Court staff, all appear to be the professionals in the program. Many of them wear their “Sunday best” to attend the Drug Court meetings. The judge conducts himself in a professional manner, but he seems to be more relaxed during Drug Court. Judge Thomas is able to communicate with the clients in a professional but a rational manner. The clients appear as scared and unaware of how each session will take place. The clients do not dress up for their Drug Court meetings. They wear regular clothing and appear as a casual human being. Some of the female clients appear as quiet, sincere, nervous, and scared. Most of the male clients appear strong, confident, and relaxed. The females are head strong but they do not have a certain charisma about them. The clients are in the program because they realize they need help, and they are court ordered to be there or in jail. The clients face many problems while they are in the Drug Court program.

Many of the problems the clients face are ones that are expected to happen to someone trying to come clean. These are problems that many people face every day. Some face transportation problems and they sometimes miss out on a counseling session or a therapy session. They face chances for a relapse and they fail a drug screen. Once this occurs the client is not kicked out of treatment. However, there is a price to pay. The client can be made to serve anywhere form twenty-four hours to seventy-two hours of jail time. They are also given additional community service hours to participate in while in the program, if they do not follow the rules of the program. The clients also experience problems with their families. Some of the clients are single, married, or divorced and have children. The Drug Court program invites the family to participate in counseling on family night, but many fail to do so. The clients struggle in counseling and therapy if he or she is without family support. Also, the clients struggle with other family members who may be alcoholics or addicts themselves. The temptations are surrounding them, but they have the choice of participating with the addicts and face the consequences there after. The counseling sessions help them to deal with each of these problems that they face while in the program. The Blount County Drug Court program is very structured to help the clients deal with each of these problems that they encounter.

The program is very structured in order to provide the client with efficient and effective therapy and counseling. The program is set up in twelve steps. The twelve steps are derived from the Alcoholics Anonymous guide book. Each step is designed to teach the client how to help themselves through the program and afterwards. Every step is harder than the first. The structure of the program allows each client to grow as an individual as well as a part of a community. The Drug Court program also consists of four phases. Also, each participant hase steps that they present to the judge and the drug court staff. Each participant in the Drug Court program is required to attend weekly meetings with counselors and therapists, attend Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings, appear in court, and appear for unannounced drug screens. These drug screens can be once a week or every two weeks. The courtroom meeting is a time when the client, judge, and other Drug Court staff come together in order for the client’s case can be reviewed. The atmosphere in the courtroom is very serious and respectful. People are required to dress appropriately for the courtroom and no cell phones or pagers are allowed in the courtroom. Also, the client reports to the judge how the week went for him or her, and if he or she is having any problems, and the progress he or she has made in the stage and phase he or she is in. Regular court is structured also, but Drug Court is very calm and the people appear to be relaxed.

I was unable to attend any of the regular court sessions. I know from experience working in Juvenile Detention what regular court is like. In the regular court system there is more tension between the client and the judge. The judge is more stern and appears to the client as the “higher power.” In Drug Court the judge is relaxed and gets involved with the clients. The judge is curious as to how the client is improving. The regular court is there to show the client that the state is in control of the situation. Drug Court allows both the judge, the staff, and the clients to be in control of the situation.

I enjoyed being a participant in the Drug Court evaluation program. I felt that this program will be beneficial to the clients as well as the community in which they live in. This program involves many aspects of what a case manager would do in order to ensure his or her clients’ needs are met. I am looking forward to designing a booklet that will help the Drug Court staff with programs that will benefit the participants. I feel that this a big step in helping the community and preparing the clients for a better life.

Oct. 16, 2000