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DeWine lauds Mahoning drug court
YOUNGSTOWN
Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced his upcoming budget will include an additional $7.5 million in funding for 30 additional specialty docket drug courts across the state.
DeWine announced the recommendation during a visit to the courtroom of Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, who for more than 20 years has hosted the county’s drug court. The program boasts recidivism rates lower than 10 percent – and 7 percent after three years – which DeWine called “phenomenal numbers.”
“Specialty dockets give judges the flexibility necessary when they encounter someone in the court system who may benefit from more treatment for substance-use disorder rather than serving jail time,” DeWine said in a release. “These specialty courts are a proven way to hold those with substance-use disorder accountable and ensure participation in mental-health and addiction treatment.”
There are currently 249 specialty dockets across the state, which cost the state about $18 million. DeWine’s executive budget proposal, which he plans to present to the General Assembly on Friday, would increase that to $25.5 million by 2021, he said Tuesday.
“We still have some counties that don’t have a drug court. We have other counties that certainly could add an additional court. There’s certainly room to grow in the state,” DeWine said. “This is something that has worked exceedingly well.”
Drug courts ultimately save taxpayers money by diverting addicts to recovery “instead of using social services, instead of being locked up somewhere. All those options are a drag on society, honestly,” DeWine said.
Judge Durkin said the specialty docket program – with its emphasis on parole monitoring, personal accountability and sober milestones – is also a better environment for those struggling to stay clean.
“We take a look at what it costs to incarcerate someone. We recognize, without question, that putting someone in jail or prison for extended periods of time actually increases recidivism,” Judge Durkin said. “So investing money on the front-end by providing good accountability, good treatment and good supervision results in people who are going to be less likely to commit future offenses.”
Victor Daprile, 34, of Canfield said his 14 months in the county’s drug court brought structure back to his life. Before being diverted to the program, he was facing felony charges for robbing a hardware store to feed his opioid addiction. He said he wasn’t employable or reliable and did “whatever he had to do” to stave off withdrawal.
“Having that structure early in the drug court program – where they have somebody to answer to, they have somebody they’re accountable to – gives them that edge to finally hear what treatment is telling them,” said Brenda Heidinger, associate director of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board.
The robbery charge was expunged when Daprile completed the program, which allowed him to “pursue his dreams” of starting a business with his father – an insurance agency they founded two years ago.