– Photo courtesy of Oakland County Circuit Court
Pictured at the Ocotber 7 Oakland County Adult Treatment Court graduation ceremony are (left to right) Robert Brady, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Joan E. Young, Brian Belwood, Stephanie Nurkala, Mackey Bemis, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Colleen A. O’Brien, and Brandon Zaner.
On Wednesday, October 7, the Oakland County Adult Treatment Court (ATC) held its 44th graduation since its inception in August of 2001. The 197th through the 202nd graduates were honored with a ceremony and reception held in the Oakland County Commissioners Auditorium at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac.
Not only did this ceremony commemorate the program’s 200th graduate, it also was the last commencement that Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Colleen O’Brien would preside over. O’Brien was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals last week by Governor Rick Snyder.
“As presiding judge of the women’s division of the Adult Treatment Court, Judge O’Brien has unselfishly given of her time and talents to improve the lives of individuals whose addictions led them to commit criminal acts,” Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Joan Young relayed recently. “She has been an outstanding colleague for the past sixteen years and we will miss her. Her commitment to the legal system and her concern for the community will continue as she moves to the Court of Appeals.”
The Adult Treatment Court has served 596 participants to date. The ATC is a four-phase intervention program for non-violent, felony offenders who find it difficult to maintain sobriety. Without acceptance into the ATC program, these individuals would otherwise be facing a probable sentence of months, if not years, in jail or prison. The program’s key elements are: extremely close judicial and community supervision, intense substance-abuse treatment, frequent substance-abuse testing, and a long-term commitment to program requirements.
In addition, the participants are expected to find and maintain employment, consistently participate in treatment, pay court costs, including restitution to the victims of their crimes, and, of course, take responsibility for the support of their children. Furthermore, if participants are not employed they are expected to perform a minimum of 20 hours of community service weekly. In 2014 alone, ATC participants completed 9,583 hours of community service. Some of the participants have found permanent employment as a direct result of their service to local non-profits.
The ATC team consists of two judges: Young, who presides over the male participants, and O’Brien, who has presided over the female participants. Additional members of the ATC team include a defense attorney, probation officer, program supervisor, and various treatment providers. While the ATC meets bi-weekly, the team is in daily contact, intensely monitoring and intervening with the program’s participants.
In Michigan, it costs on average $35,000 to incarcerate an inmate annually. In contrast, it only costs an average of $5,000 for each ATC participant annually, a cost savings of $29,000 per participant. Additionally, according to The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) website, “Nationwide, for every $1.00 invested in Drug Court, taxpayers save as much as $3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs alone. When considering other cost offsets such as savings from reduced victimization and healthcare service utilization, studies have shown benefits range up to $27 for every $1 invested. These cost savings reflect reduced prison costs, reduced revolving-door arrests and trials and reduced victimization.” Further, nationwide, 75% of Drug Court graduates remain arrest-free at least two years after leaving the program.
For further information about this program, contact Jacqueline Howes-Evanson at 248-452-2154.
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