Radisson Inn, Fargo
November 12, 1999
| Members Present Judge Deb Kleven Mary Hall Dr. Kevin Thompson Deb Carlson Hadland Greg Wallace Ron Schneider Melody Peterson Birch Burdick | Members Absent Judge Ralph Erickson Steve Mottinger |
Staff
Alyson Schmidt
Chair, Justice Mary Muehlen Maring called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. She noted that in the October 8, 1999, minutes, on page 2, paragraph four one year should be omitted from the length of the drug court program. MARY HALL MOVED THAT THE OCTOBER 8, 1999, MINUTES BE APPROVED. THE MOTION WAS SECONDED AND WAS PASSED.
Justice Maring then had the committee review the draft of the Juvenile Drug Court Program Requirements. The committee decided that there will be no restriction on the number of times a juvenile may have appeared in juvenile court before being referred to juvenile drug court [JDC]. The committee also decided that JDC will exclude juveniles who have sold or manufactured controlled substances.
The group further determined that juveniles may enter the program from the age of 14, up until their 18th birthday. The juvenile may finish the program after their 18th birthday. The JDC team will have some discretion as to who may enter the program if they do not meet all of the eligibility requirements. The referring offense may be either drug or non-drug related. Justice Maring noted and the committee agreed that a juvenile who was terminated from the JDC program will not be eligible to re-enter.
The Juvenile Drug Court Planning Committee discussed how the drug court program can provide enough legal incentives for the juvenile to participate. The committee discussed "dismissing" the charge; however, committee members expressed concern because dismissing the charge would not undue the admission, on an adjudication, from the juvenile's record. The committee decided they needed to revisit the issue at a later meeting.
Justice Maring then turned the discussion to the Juvenile Drug Court Program Structure. She asked the committee to determine who makes the initial determination that the juvenile has a substance abuse problem before the JDC team recommends whether the juvenile is eligible for drug court. The committee stated a youth may be referred by juvenile court personnel, state's attorney, defense counsel, and the treatment provider to be initially screened by a court officer for JDC eligibility. Once the initial screen for drug and/or alcohol problems is complete by the court officer and an ASI / evaluation is complete, the juvenile will be referred to the JDC team to determine if the youth is an appropriate participant.
The committee then decided that the JDC team members will recommend that the juvenile be accepted or denied admittance to JDC and describe the reasons for their recommendations. If the team recommends admittance to the program, a formal petition for adjudication will be prepared and a hearing date will be obtained before the JDC judge.
Committee members discussed the need for juveniles and their parents to participate in an orientation to JDC, prior to the initial hearing. At the orientation, the youth must sign a Juvenile Drug Court Contract, the juvenile will be advised of his right to confidentiality and asked to sign a consent for release of confidential information. Justice Maring noted that failure of the juvenile to sign the contract and/or consent will terminate the juvenile's eligibility for participation in JDC.
Dr. Thompson then discussed the evaluation process. He said that an appropriate option for the evaluation might be to choose juveniles with drug and/or alchol problems from another judicial district for one of the control groups. He could gather data from their probation and compare them with data from drug court participants.
The committee then reviewed Program Policies from the Missoula, Montana, Youth Drug Court. The Committee stated that they would like to include in our program manual the following policies: participant orientation, drug court team, juvenile drug court accountability program, visitors, attendance, alcohol/drug screens, community service, immediate termination, and the zero tolerance policy. Justice Maring noted that she and Alyson would draft the policies and bring them back to the committee for approval.
Justice Maring noted that an issue of some concern is juvenile drug court confidentiality. She noted that it will be important to draft a waiver of confidentiality for the participants and their parents to sign so that information may be released concerning their participation in juvenile drug court. Justice Maring stated that she and Alyson will do further research regarding confidentiality and report back to the committee.
Justice Maring then questioned the committee whether a standard number of community service hours should be assigned to the JDC participants, in addition to the community service hours required in their probation requirements. The committee decided that a minimum of 20 hours "meaningful" community service will be required for the JDC participants.
The committee then discussed drug court incentives and sanctions. The committee indicated they would like to review a draft of incentives and graduated sanctions at the December 2, 1999, drug court meeting.
With no further business, the committee meeting adjourned at 12:45.