YOUTH DRUG COURT LAUNCHES

VICTORVILLE -- Juvenile Drug Court, an innovative system designed to
provide intensive drug treatment to young offenders and impose
immediate consequences for violations, launches Wednesday.

High Desert Juvenile Drug Court -- the only program of its kind in
San Bernardino County -- will require young drug offenders to have
court appearances and contact with their probation officer each week.

A kid must face a judge in juvenile court within a week if they are
caught violating their probation terms.

"It's the immediate consequences that make the difference in this
program," said Judge Margaret Powers.

Though Juvenile Drug Court will impose immediate consequences, the
program's aim will be to help kids with a drug problem create
lifestyle changes. Aside from educating kids about the dangers of
drug use, the treatment provided will help kids resolve issues that
lead them to use drugs in the first place.

The four-phase, yearlong program is offered to those ages 12 to 17.
The offender must live within the Victor Valley Unified School
District or Adelanto. The court plans to later expand the program to
include other High Desert areas, Powers said.

Rhonda Morken, founder of One 2 One Mentors in Victorville, will be
the primary treatment coordinator for Juvenile Drug Court. Kids who
become involved with drugs are often exposed to them at home and have
a hard escaping a user's mindset, she said.

"We want to introduce kids to things that will give them alternatives
to using drugs," Morken said. "We want kids to step out of their
comfort zones and out of the party scene find a way to implement a
lifestyle change. The best way to break old habits is to create new ones."

Dance classes, exercise classes and community functions are some of
the things Morken plans to introduce to the kids she will help.
Morken said as the program develops, she wants to find members of the
community to help provide structured activities for Juvenile Drug
Court participants.

Offenders will be required to attend addiction counseling up to nine
hours a week. There will be random drug-testing supervised by
probation officers. Kids will also have to attend Narcotics Anonymous
meetings with other program participants. These will be special NA
meetings attended by only juveniles, though the meetings will be led
by a qualified adult.

"I really believe in the 12-step program," Powers said.

Incentives will be offered for positive performance. Powers feels
this will be more effective than just using consequences for negative
performance.

Incentives include movie passes, gift certificates sobriety tokens
and praise by the court.

There are stiff consequences for Juvenile Drug Court participants who
misbehave or do not take the program seriously.

Offenders who relapse, cut class, violate probation or misbehave at
home or school face community service sentences, time in juvenile
hall and removal from the program.

As a youth progresses through the program, less contact with
authorities and counselors will be required. An offender who
completes each phase of the program without relapse or behavior
problems could potentially be dismissed in 271 days.

For the duration, offenders will remain on supervised probation.
Since the program lasts a maximum of one year, offenders will have
the chance to be released from probation early since many crimes
would otherwise carry a sentence several years probation. Kids who
complete the Juvenile Drug Court program will have the charges
against them dismissed. Powers said in some cases, she will be able
to seal the juvenile's court records.

To be eligible for Juvenile Drug Court, offenders must not have
violent criminal history, major criminal offenses or gang
affiliations in their background. Only offenders with serious
substance abuse problems will be considered and the program is voluntary.

Juvenile Drug Court will launch with initially with five or seven
participants, said Powers. In a short time, Juvenile Drug Court will
work with 30 to 40 new offenders each month, she said.