Trumbull County gets state grant for Family Dependency Drug Court

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

Judge Pamela Rintala said the program will include up to 20 families at a time.

WARREN — A new program in Trumbull County Family Court will work to decrease alcohol and drug dependency and keep families intact.

Trumbull County has received a $40,000 grant from the Ohio Supreme Court to begin a Family Dependency Drug Court in 2009. It is the only county in the state to receive the funding.

The grant will cover a four-year period. The county will have to seek alternative funding to continue the program after that time.

Marcia Tiger, director of Trumbull County Children Services, said the program is just as much about saving families as it is about dealing with addiction.

“We try to provide permanency for children, and the laws dictate that if a child is in temporary custody 12 months out of the last 22 months, we need to pursue permanent custody,” she said. “We have found that 75 percent of the referrals we see have some mention of dependency. The addiction grabs hold of these parents so tight they can lose their kids.”

Tiger said the new court program will make parents address their addiction problems before their kids are placed in the custody of the state.

Judge Pamela Rintala said the program will include up to 20 families at a time. Parents in the program, she said, will be required to come to the court every Friday and show the court that they are attending counseling and meetings and conforming to random drug and alcohol testing.

According to the judge, participants will be required to attend meetings less frequently as the court deems meetings less necessary. She said it will take about a year to officially graduate from the program.

Participants will also be required to create and read a letter before the court and others in the group detailing what they have learned through intervention from the program.

Those in the program not attending the weekly meetings or not keeping up with court-imposed drug and alcohol intervention can face sanctions up to and including jail time, but that is a last resort.

“The goal is hopefully to get these people through the treatment program with the court micromanaging them until the family is either reunited or a determination is made that the child should be removed from the home permanently,” said Judge Rintala.

Every aspect of a participant’s life is included in the program. Any advocates, housing authorities, probation officers or caseworkers attend the weekly meetings and update the court on the participant’s progress.

Tiger has visited similar programs in other counties and said the best approach is one of positive reinforcement for participants. She said those completing the program often hold celebrations comparable to high school graduation.

Tiger said the program should be up and running by sometime in January with a full caseload shortly after that time.

jgoodwin@vindy.com