DRUG REHABILITATION Board to lead officials on tour of courts, clinics

Officials will see courts and a treatment center.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board will host a tour of county drug treatment agencies Friday.
Officials will meet at the Mahoning County Courthouse at 8 a.m. to begin the tour and will conclude with a luncheon and panel discussion at 1 p.m. at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
The panel is made up of professionals offering services to drug offenders served by specialty courts in Mahoning County.
The board invited federal, state and local elected officials to participate in the tour, which will make stops at Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, docket courts, the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic and Addiction Services of Mahoning County.
"The tour gives officials an opportunity to see how specialty docket courts operate," said David L. Schaffer, the board's executive director. "It will also focus on other drug treatment programs in the area."
Schaffer said a highlight will be a stop at the courtroom of Judge John M. Durkin, who oversees common pleas' drug court, to observe a status hearing at 9 a.m.
"One of the main goals of this tour is to educate local township trustees and mayors in the Mahoning area about services available for drug-related offenders," Schaffer said.
Representatives from other agencies will talk about their programs as the tour group travels en route to and from each destination.
"It's a good collaboration between the courts and agencies in the area," he said.