TO OPEN THEIR EYES

That's The Mission Of Local Drug Court For Juveniles

Natchez -- It's easy to regret your actions from the basement of the
Juvenile Detention Center.

But regretting getting caught and regretting smoking pot are two
different things, and Elizabeth and Derrick haven't quite sorted out
which is which yet.

(The names in this story have been changed at the request of the
Adams County Youth Drug Court director.)

Both have spent time locked up, and both have been given a second chance.

Elizabeth, a white 16-year-old, thinks she was about 10 or 11 when
she had her first drink. Then came cigarettes, then marijuana.

"I started stealing from my mom and going to parties," she said.

About a year ago she was with a group of friends, drunk, throwing
empty beer bottles in a dumpster when a police officer spotted them.
She was arrested, went to court and was admitted into the youth drug
court program.

Derrick, a black 17-year-old, tried cigarettes first, at about age
10, he said. Marijuana came soon after. "My homeboys had it," he
said. "And I stole from my uncle for cigarettes."

Soon, Derrick was arrested on charges of accessory to the fact of
larceny when he was with a group caught stealing a four-wheeler. He
became a part of the Adolescent Offender Program, where he failed a
drug test and ended up in drug court.

He's been in drug court for about four years now, and he doesn't
think it's working. "It's just wasting my time," he said. "You are
still going to do what you want to do anyway. One day, I'll stop
(using drugs)."

For now, Derrick said he's stopped, but he admits that's just to pass
the frequent drug court drug tests. "If you don't want to be here (at
the detention center), you don't smoke, or steal or drink," he said.
"If you do, you stay in jail."

Elizabeth said she thinks the court is having a different effect on
her. "I think it's helping me," she said. "If I can go this long
without doing (drugs or drinking), I think there's no point in doing it again."

She's decided to stop hanging out with the friends who initially got
her into drugs and alcohol, but still, she regrets getting caught.

"If I would have known, like now, I would have been more careful,"
she said. "Don't go into the store when you are drunk. Don't do stupid stuff."

If Elizabeth and Derrick complete all phases of drug court and
graduate from the program, the charges against them won't go on their
permanent records. But more than that, the court's aim is to give
them the tools they need to stay away from drugs, alcohol and crime,
Director Marc Taylor said.

"We are a helping court," he said. "To try to cut down on incarcerations."

At the beginning of the process, teens almost always come in angry
they've been caught, Taylor said. The aim, over the course of the
program, is to show them it was their behavior that's regrettable.

"When they get past the initial irritation that they've been caught,
many times they begin to look to the future," Taylor said. "They
notice things go smoother for them if they make the right choices.
It's kind of an eye-opener for them."

This fall, there are 34 teenagers in the Adams County Youth Drug
Court. Participants are between the ages of 14 and 18. A teen who
starts the program can stay in it until he or she is 21. Participants
meet in small groups once a week with a drug court counselor and
attend family meetings once a week. Parents take parenting classes
and talk with counselors. Members have to be enrolled in school or
work toward their GEDs. Counselors closely track school involvement,
from attendance to grades to behavior. The schools know which
students are in the drug court program. Drug tests are frequent and
random. A clean test is rewarded; a positive drug test means
sanctions. All the teens have curfews, 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m.
on weekends.

"Early intervention can spot those prone to addiction," Taylor said.
"You can spot addictive behavior."