Inside This Issue

Volume 2, Issue 1

March 2012A Publication by the

2012 Officersand Directors

Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

MAY IS NATIONAL DRUG COURT MONTHALL RISE AMERICA! NATIONAL RELAY FOR RECOVERY

WARREN COUNTY DRUG COURT PROGRAMCONTINUES TO SHOW SUCCESS

Tuesday, February 21, 2012, the 31stJudicial District Drug Court Program recog-nized nine more individuals for completing theintensive supervision and treatment program,during graduation ceremonies. Since becomingoperational in July 2004, the 31st JudicialDistrict Drug Court Program, which serves VanBuren and Warren County, has had 66 individu-als complete the program successfully. TheDrug Court Program boasts a 71% success per-centage for the graduates.

The main goal of the Drug Court Programis to help individuals become productive lawabiding citizens and become drug addictionfree. The Drug Court’s objective is beingaccomplished by holding participants to a high-er degree of accountability through intensesupervision, treatment, and increased courtappearances. The Drug Court Program is aminimum of 18 months. There are three differ-ent phases each participant will go through,each phase lasting a minimum of six months.Participates are not allowed to move to anotherPhase unless he or she has completed all therequirements for the previous Phase.Individuals, who fail to comply with the rulesof the drug court program, are given harshsanctions. Sanctions may include; serving jailtime, being placed back on house arrest, beingmoved back a Phase, and others.

Many may ask why Van Buren and WarrenCounty has a drug court program for individu-

als with substance abuse issues. Would not thecommunity be better served by incarceratingthese individuals? The simple reason is: DrugCourt works!Individuals whohave a substanceabuse problem,who break the law,and are then sent tojail, 70% of thetime, will return tothe communityhaving a substanceabuse addiction,and will commitmore crimes.Treating a person’s substance abuse addiction,with a higher degree of accountability, sub-stance abuse treatment, and intense supervision,has proven to help the individual become a pro-ductive member of our community. The indi-vidual is required to work, pay taxes, and pro-vide for his or her family, taking the financialresponsibility away from the tax payers of VanBuren and Warren County. The tangible savingsto the residents of Van Buren and WarrenCounty for having a Drug Court program are;1) sending a person to the Van Buren or WarrenCounty jail cost tax payers approximately $35per day. The cost per person to operate theDrug Court Program costs $4.50 per day. Theaverage time a person stays in the drug court

program is 540 days. If you multiply the 54drug court graduates, who have not re-offendedsince graduating, times $4.50 per day, the cost

is $131,220. If Van Buren orWarren County did not havea drug court program, theseindividuals would have beenplaced in the Van Buren orWarren County Jail at a costof 54 individuals x $35 jailcost per day x 540 days, or$1,020,600. Because VanBuren and Warren Countyhas a successful drug courtprogram, the tangible costsavings for the taxpayers has

been $889,380. The un-tangible cost to thecommunity for sending an individual to servehis or her sentence in jail, verses getting treat-ment are; the individual is not paying taxes, theindividual is not supporting his or her family,the county is having to provide medical treat-ment, babies are born addicted to drugs (sevendrug free babies have been born since drugcourt’s inception), the individual will return tousing drugs once released from jail, continuecommitting more crimes, thus continuing thenever ending cycle.

If you would like more information aboutthe Drug Court program, you can contact theDrug Court Director; C. Brad Price at 931-474-1071.

May is National Drug Court Month;our annual opportunity to communi-cate the tremendous local and nationalimpact of Drug Courts. This year, TheNational Association of State DrugCourt Associations (SDCA) and theNational Association of Drug CourtProfessionals (NADCP) are excited toannounce the inaugural All RiseAmerica! National Relay for Recovery.

The National Relay for Recovery isa cross country motorcycle ride thatwill highlight the inspiring storiesbrought to bear every day in America’sDrug Courts. From small towns to big

cities, across Midwestern plains andover mountains, the National Relay ForRecovery will shine a spotlight on thecollective impact of Drug Courts, andleave no doubt in the eyes of the publicand policymakers that Drug Courtsmust be expanded. Along the way,motorcycle riders will carry the cere-monial All Rise Gavel; a reminder tous all that when one person rises out ofdrug addiction and crime, we All Rise.

The Relay for Recovery will travel

through ten states, includingTennessee. In each state, the relay willstop to attend special Drug Courtevents and to switch riders. The statesalong the route are CA, AZ, NM, TX,OK, AR, TN, KY, WV, and VA.

The Relay for Recovery will start inLos Angeles, CA on May 1 and endover 3,000 miles away in NewportNews, VA on May 22. Here is theschedule of the relay throughTennessee.

Older Adult Substance Abuse 2

TADCP To Host A DayOn Capitol Hill 2

TADCP ScholarshipWinners 3

Inhalants &Young Users 3

President’s Corner 3

Crosson Leaving 3

Coordinators MeetTo Share & Learn 4

MembershipApplication 4

PresidentKevin Batts

Vice PresidentMary Schneider

TreasurerBrad Price

SecretaryRick Taylor

West Tennessee DirectorRebekah Provost-Emmons

Middle Tennessee DirectorMarianne Schroer

East Tennessee DirectorJudge Charles Cerney

At Large DirectorsRon HanaverTracye Bryant

Jill Barrett

By 2020, the number of adults aged 50or older needing substance abuse treat-ment is expected to double from 2.8 mil-lion (2002 to2006 annualaverage) to 5.7million.1 Expertsrecommend thatolder adults withsubstance abuse problems receive servic-es that are age specific and address theunique physical, psychological, social,and vocational changes that may occur

at this life stage.2 According to theTreatment Episode Data Set (TEDS),substance abuse treatment admissions of

individuals aged 50 or olderincreased by nearly 50 per-cent between 2004 and 2009(Figure). Incontrast,data from

the National Survey ofSubstance AbuseTreatment Services (N-SSATS) show that in

2009 fewer facilities offered special pro-grams or groups for seniors or olderadults than in 2004. For more informa-tion on resources and funding for servic-es for older adults, please visithttp://www.aoa.gov.

Page 2 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

By 2020, the number of adultsaged 50 or older needing

substance abuse treatment isexpected to double ...

OLDER ADULT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT ADMISSIONSHAVE INCREASED; NUMBER OF SPECIAL TREATMENTPROGRAMS FOR THIS POPULATION HAS DECREASED

T A D C PEV

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Mark YourCalendars!

TADCP AnnualTraining

ConferenceDecember 5-7, 2012

Embassy Suites HotelMurfreesboro, Tennessee

1 Han, B., Gfroerer, J. C., Colliver, J. D., & Penne, M. A. (2009). Substance use disorder among older adults in the UnitedStates in 2020. Addiction, 104(1), 88-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02411.x.

2 Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (1998). Substance abuse among older adults (Treatment Improvement Protocol[TIP] Series 26; HHS Publication No. SMA 98-3179). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration. [Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK14467/].

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 2004ñ2009 National Surveys of SubstanceAbuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). N-SSATS is an annual survey of all substance abuse treatment facilities in the UnitedStates, both public and private, that are known to SAMHSA. Information and data for this report are based on data reported toN-SSATS for the survey references dates of March 31, 2004ñ2006, March 30, 2007, and March 31, 2008ñ2009. For moreinformation on the N-SSATS see http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/09nssats/nssats2k9web.pdf.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 2004 to 2009,based on data received through November 3, 2010. TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics andsubstance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment in the United States, primarily at facilities thatreceive public funding. For more information on TEDS, see http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/teds09/teds2k9nweb.pdf.

N-SSATS and TEDS are both components of the Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS), an integrated datasystem maintained by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, SAMHSA.

The Tennessee Association of DrugCourt Professionals will be hosting aday on Capitol Hill in Nashville onTuesday, March 27th for all DrugCourt Professionals.

Beginning at 8 a.m. there will be acontinental breakfast for all drug courtprofessionals. As the legislators begintheir committee meetings, drug courtsare invited to set up tables in the"Power Hallway" where deals aremade and broken.

You may highlight your drug courtto the legislators and bring a graduateor participant who can tell the legisla-tors what the program has meant tothem.

You may attend committee meet-ings and find out how your govern-

ment really works.At noon, all drug court profession-

als and all legislators are invited to acomplementary box lunch.

After our program, make appoint-ments with your representatives andlet them know how successful andlife-changing this program is!

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TOALL DRUG COURT PRACTITIONERS!

You will be responsible for your owntravel and lodging expenses.

TADCP WILL HOST A DAY ON CAPITOL HILL IN NASHVILLE

Page 3 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

THEPRESIDENT’S

CORNER

TADCP MEMBERSENJOY....

BY KEVIN BATTS

• CONTINUING EDUCATIONOPPORTUNITIES(NAADAC AND CLE)

• ANNUAL TADCP CONFERENCE

There’s an awakening underway. If you lis-ten closely, you’ll hear it. Policymakers on thenational, state, and local levels are making pos-itive comments about the successes of drugcourts. And their chatter is increasing.

It’s as though a dozen years of efforts arebeginning to bear fruit. Those long-forgottenseedlings have taken strong root, sprung upfrom the ground, weathered the clouds ofuncertainty, sustained through powerful politi-cal winds, and stood tall against those whowould have crushed the movement with pleas-ure.

Your hard work and determination have cre-ated a drug court culture that will withstanddetraction. How else can you explain theincredible successes of Tennessee drug courtsoperating for the most part on shoe-stringbudgets and not much more than hopes anddreams?

Those committed to the success of drugcourts in this state ...YOU... have got to be themost committed bunch of folks in theVolunteer State. Most other programs wouldhave faltered and failed years ago if faced withthe challenges you face on a daily basis.

But you have something very special. Youhave the will to make your drug court work. Noperson, no budget, no circumstance is going toget in your way. You are a rebel among rebelsand you’ll wear that badge proudly in order tostand up for your belief in your program.You‚ve probably watched staff members comeand quickly go when they recognize the enor-mous task before them. Reaching out to thosein tragic situations can be gut-wrenching.Some just don’t have the heart or stomach forit. But to those special people who endure...YOU... the rewards are the greatest you’llfind this side of Heaven.

TADCP SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS5 MEMBERS PRESENTED WITH $650 SCHOLARSHIPS

It PAY$ to be a Member!Congratulations to TADCP

members who were selectedfor $650 tuition scholarships tothe NADCP AnnualConference in Nashville!

• Tom Jackson

• Ethel Rhodes

• Paula Snapp

• Dennis Ballentine

• Tammy Kesterson

FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR CROSSON LEAVING POSITIONMarie Crosson, the former Deputy

Director for the Office of Criminal JusticePrograms, announced at the December8th Due Process Training that she wasleaving her position. Marie recently gavebirth to a darling little girl named Grace.We all knew it was a matter of timebefore she would want to be a full-timemom to Grace. But in addition to being afull-time mom, Marie will be finishing upher PhD in Psychology for CapellaUniversity. We wish Marie all the bestand will miss her very much!

Many 12 year-olds in the "tween" generation, yearning tobecome teenagers, are already using illicit drugs. Their drug ofchoice is inhalants. This is the conclusion of a report by HHS’Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA). The data show that 3.4 percent of 12 year-old children used inhalants in the past 12 months,outpacing use of marijuana (1.1 percent) and mis-use of prescription pain relievers (2.7 percent).

Inhalant use increased to 4.8 percent for 13year-olds, use that is more common than use ofmarijuana (4.0 percent) or misuse of prescriptionpain relievers (3.9 percent). By age 14, use of mar-ijuana and prescription pain relievers increases,leaving inhalants ranked third. But regardless ofage of use, inhalants can cause "Sudden SniffingDeath" or lead to addiction and other health risks.

Adolescents reporting inhalant use suffered also from psy-chiatric disorders (45 percent), compared with adolescents whoabused other drugs but did not use inhalants (29 percent). Whileadolescents ages 12 to 17 account for only 8 percent of sub-stance abuse treatment admissions, they represent 48 percent ofall admissions reporting use of inhalants, whether used exclu-sively or along with other drugs of abuse. Teenage girls com-prised 41 percent of adolescent admissions involving inhalants,but only 30 percent of admissions not involving inhalants.

Inhalants are everywhere in the house and garage and parentsoften do not realize that the glue and paint are not being usedfor crafts or science projects," said SAMHSA’s Director of theCenter for Substance Abuse Treatment, H. Westley Clark."While the data show that often children move away from usinginhalants as they grow older, they often move on to other illicitdrugs. Inhalants are a health hazard that can damage the brain,heart, liver or kidneys. Children may think of inhalants as fun,but adults need to know they cause severe damage and evendeath."

Harvey Weiss, executive director of the National InhalantPrevention Coalition, said: "Inhalants are a danger to publichealth. Young children are risking death or a lifetime of illnessfor a temporary high. Even if a child does not die, get addicted

or otherwise develop health problems that will have a life-longeffect, that child is using a gateway drug and could be onthe way to years of drug use, and a long, difficult path torecovery."

"Today, the substance abuse threat our children face fre-quently does not come from a sinister dealer on the street,

but rather from products commonly found in ourown homes," said John Walters, Director of

National Drug Control Policy."Despite a 24-percent reduction in

youth drug use since 2001, inhalantsabuse remains a serious and potentially deadly

problem. Parents must be vigilant in protecting their childrenfrom threats that may be hidden in plain sight."

Inhalants are common household products such as shoe pol-ish, glue, aerosol air fresheners, hair sprays, nail polish, paintsolvents, degreasers, gasoline or lighter fluids. Youngsters inten-tionally inhale these substances to get high. As adolescents agefrom 12 to 17, choice of inhalants among new users migratesfrom glue, shoe polish or other toluene products among 12 year-olds (29.6 percent of those who began using inhalants in thepast year) to nitrous oxide or whippets among 17 year-olds(59.3 percent of new inhalant users).

"Parents have to protect their children from so many externalthreats, real and perceived, that it is easy to overlook those hid-ing in their own homes," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Directorof the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes ofHealth. "One of the reasons inhalants present such a difficultchallenge is their ready availability to children and adolescents,who are largely unaware that a single huffing session can killthem.

INHALANTS ARE DRUG OF CHOICE FOR YOUNGEST USERS

Page 4 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF DRUG COURT PROFESSIONALS

A one-year membership to TADCP is $25 per person. An organizational membership from 1/01/2012 - 12/31/2012 is $200 for 2-10 membersand $10 for each additional member greater than 10. Please make checks payable to TADCP.

Is this application for an individual membership or orgranizational membership? Individual ❑ Organizational ❑Please specify the membership organization_______________________________________________________

1. Primary contact personNameTitleOrganization

Drug CourtMailing AddressCity, State, ZIP

Phone NumberFax NumberE-Mail Address

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

A Publication by the

P.O. Box 639McMinnville, TN 37111

A crisp, sunny day greeted Drug Court Coordinators fromacross the State as they gathered at Fall Creek Falls State Parkin early March to share ideas with one another, and to hearfrom experts on improving our Drug Courts.

Coordinators were provided a report on “Tennessee DrugCourt Funding Strategies” produced by the National CriminalJustice Association. Strategic funding has become moreimportant than ever in this economy, and Drug Courts willcontinue to explore new and improved funding sources for thefuture. Several sessions highlighted successful program com-ponents in Tennessee Drug Courts. Coordinators from severaldistricts shared their success stories with other coordinatorson how to improve their courts with limited resources.

The program included a discussion of Due Process andBest Practices in Drug Court. Coordinators looked at a synop-sis of the Due Process session presented recently by JudgePeggy Hora, and had a lengthy discussion about how thatimpacts Tennessee courts. The frank and open discussion

revealed that we all have very unique courts working underthe same guidelines. We all accomplish the same goals in verydifferent ways.

Holly Connor Sharp presenteda great lesson on “EffectivePresentations and MarketingTools.” The session included com-mon sense tools for getting yourmessage across. You may havethe best Drug Court in the world,but the key is to communicate thatmessage to policymakers whocontrol your budget from year-to-year. We have amazing programs.We need to strive to communicatethat message! Carl Dawsonbrought us up-to-date on Prescription, Synthetic, and DesignerDrugs. Testing and treatment options are always a challenge,

especially in today’s world. We must be ever vigilant to keepup with the latest information on testing and treatment! EllenAbbott led a presentation on A&D Resources and how to

access them for your clients. Funding isavailable if you know where to look!OCJP shared important information onthe Drug Court Annual Report, which iscoming up just around the corner. Themost valuable time of all was the opportu-nity that Drug Court Coordinators had tonetwork with one another during trainingsessions, breaks and a barbecue dinner.Just as your individual drug court team isexponentially more powerful than anyindividual member, so too is the power ofa room full of drug court coordinators

working toward a common goal...the Excellence of TennesseeDrug Courts!

COORDINATORS MEET TO SHARE AND LEARN!

C O M P U T E RTRAINING

New Horizons Nashville haspricing set up with TADCP for

computer training.The following prices are for TADCPmembers:

Access - $88 per level per studentWord - $58 per level per studentExcel - $68 per level per studentOLA Access - $67 per user for

Online AnytimeFeel free to call or email for any

additional information:Ph: 615-850-5919Fax: 615-251-6925Email: skomar@NHNashville.com