by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
There are nine counties in the state that put the most adults behind bars for various drug-related, third-degree felonies. Duval is one of those counties.
Thanks to a $700,000 grant, many of those offenders could be eligible for counseling under an expanded adult post-adjudicatory drug court program. The alternative is prison and can be costly.
Over the course of the next two years, the State of Florida expects those nine counties to arrest 4,000 nonviolent drug offenders for third-degree felonies. At an average sentence of one-year at $20,000 to $25,000 a year, it comes to $45 million a year for the nine counties. And, that figure includes little to no drug rehabilitation or counseling.
Kelly Zarle, adult drug court manager for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, said the $700,000 grant from the State will go a long way toward keeping those offenders out of overcrowded jails and into programs designed to keep them drug-free and contributing to society.
“It’s a prosecutorial diversion option,” said Zarle, adding that simply arresting a drug user, jailing then releasing them after their sentence does not prove to be any kind of deterrent. Instead, she said, the expanded program will allow offenders to enter a complex and lengthy rehabilitation program aimed at lowering the recidivism rate. “A sick mind is not going to be deterred. If someone is a substance abuser, they are not going to think rationally.”
Under the program, an adult arrested for drug possession or any other drug-related third-degree felony is eligible provided the State Attorney’s Office approves and refers the offender to Zarle’s office. The program consists of three phases that all include therapy sessions, supervision, drug tests and other criteria. Also, “to successfully complete the program the client must have a minimum of 120 days clean, not have had any unexcused absences from scheduled services for at least eight weeks, have a stable living environment, be employed and/or working on their education, be actively involved with their sponsor and attending regular meetings.”
After the program — whether the defendant successfully completes it or drops out — they will return to court for sentencing. Often those who are successful and show progress may be released. Others will be accordingly sentenced.
“At any point that they are non-compliant, we can request that they be arrested and charged,” said Zarle. “This program costs about one-tenth of what it costs to jail someone for a year.”
Zarle said there are currently 80-90 adults in the program.
“We will be able to expand by an additional 200 a year in lieu of building more prisons. We are out of prison space,” she said. “It will save millions of dollars. We can treat them for less than $4,000 a year.”
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