After entering a plea deal to methamphetamine use, a 26-year-old Cortez woman appeared shocked to learn that she would be ineligible for free inpatient substance abuse treatment while a Drug Court participant.
“I can’t sentence someone to something the state doesn’t have funding for,” District Court Judge Plewe advised at a recent hearing.
Shackled, wearing maroon clothing with “Montezuma County Sheriffs Office Inmate” stamped on the back, the woman’s jaw dropped as she turned toward a detention officer inside the courtroom as the judge continued, “The drug court doesn’t have funding until July 1 for inpatient treatment.”
The defendant, Elizabeth Rogers, had agreed to plead guilty in connection to her September felony drug arrest with a stipulation that she’d be able to enroll in the 22nd Judicial District’s Drug Court. After conferring with her public defender, Rogers agreed to proceed with the plea agreement, which included 24 months of supervised probation along with substance abuse testing and treatment.
“You’ll have to pay for all these services,” Plewe advised Rogers.
After indicating that she understood, Rogers replied, “Thank you, your honor.”
Via her attorney, Rogers informed the court that she planned to seek outpatient drug treatment as a “good faith” effort on her part to prove that she was committed to turning her life around.
“The state of Colorado has provided some funding for programs like Drug Court, but some is not enough,” said District Attorney Will Furse. “Treating offenders is much cheaper and effective than incarcerating them.”
Drug Court Administrator Diana Buza agreed, stating every $1 allocated for drug treatment netted a return between $15 and $25 to the community.
“Early intervention results in tremendous savings to tax payers,” Buza said, citing reduced incarceration and healthcare costs, for example. “It just makes sense to allocate more funding for treatment. It’s a wise investment.”
The 22nd Judicial District launched its Drug Court program 15 years ago in 2001 to provide a sentencing alternate for substance abuse offenders. To date, more than 180 have participated in the program, and almost half, 48 percent, have successfully completed Drug Court.
“It’s extremely effective in reducing recidivism,” Buza said, adding that less than 1 in 5 Drug Court participants are arrested on subsequent narcotics charges within the first year of graduating from the program.
“While the cost of substance abuse treatment is high, the cost to the community is even higher, if people go untreated in terms of health care costs, lost wages and increased crime,” Buza reiterated.
At just more than $43,000 for the fiscal year, the 22nd Judicial District’s funding allocation includes all treatment and testing services for both Drug Court and DUI Court. The budget item is determined by caseload when measured against the caseload of other drug courts across the state. According to officials, the 22nd Judicial District has had to historically limit services to Drug Court clients before due to under funding, but not in several years.
“I hope that state funding increases,” Furse said. “Drug court is an invaluable resources that can literally save lives.”
