County OKs $500 for Drug Court

County OKs $500 for Drug Court

Funds will be used for gift cards for program graduates

news@theeveningtimes.com

Crittenden County Drug Court will get $500 to buy gift cards for incentives to participants in the program instead of creating a special petty cash fund.

Circuit Court Judge Cindy Thyer had asked the county to consider creating a petty cash fund instead of issuing a check to her, but officials on the Quorum Court balked at the idea citing accountability problems with petty cash in the past.

Instead, the county will write the check to Circuit Court Clerk Terry Hawkins, who will buy the cards and keep track of how many are purchased and who they are given to.

“I don’t think anybody has a problem with the incentives,” said Justice Vickie Robertson. “But we’ve had problems in the past with a petty cash fund. It was a matter of how we would keep up with the money.

This way we will be able to better document it if we just have her buy the cards.”

Drug Court is a supervised intervention process to let drug and alcohol offenders complete a treatment program to avoid felony charges or prison time.

Violators complete an 18 month program where they are required to pass all drug tests, have a job, and get alcohol and drug counseling.

There are 43 drug courts in Arkansas.

Thyer said the program has 29 participants in the 2nd Circuit which covers Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Mississippi, and Poinsett Counties.

“Our Drug Court program is growing,” Thyer said.

“We have found this program to be very effective with those who have graduated. They are much less likely to re-offend than those who went the traditional prison route.”

Drug Court is also more cost effective to taxpayers.

Thyer said it costs $14 a day to send someone to drug court compared to $61 a day to house an inmate in prison.

“So there is a cost savings in addition to what we as a community hope to accomplish in having individuals who are drug free that we don’t have to send back to prison, and hopefully they are better fathers and mothers and contributors to society,” Thyer said.

Thyer said Drug Court participants pay $25 a month to be in the program. They meet monthly with the judge, prosecuting at- torney, public defender, probation officer, a Drug Court coordinator, and a mental health professional present who discuss their progress.

The program operates on a sanctions and incentives system, she said.

Sanctions can range from being assigned community service or short jail stays.

They use gift cards to reward participants who successfully complete milestones in the program.

“When they reach certain milestones we acknowledge that,” Thyer said. “We are trying to reward them for doing good things in the program like reaching a certain number of days clean or sober, or if they have gotten their GED. Or, one of those incentives may be that they don’t have to pay the $25, or they don’t have to come to Drug Court next week. We watch for those things and like to continually reward them.”

Thyer said they typically hand out $10 or $25 Walmart gift cards or to a restaurant as rewards.

“This is money that is paid into this fund by the participants,”

Thyer said. “This is not taxpayer money.” The fund currently has about $11,500.

Thyer said the reason she asked for the county to create a petty cash fund is because her office is in Jonesboro and she has to make a special trip to Crittenden to cash the check and buy the gift cards. It is then up to her to keep track of the receipts for the gift cards.

“I’m not coming to you today demanding that be the solution,” Thyer said. “I understand you have reservations about that. But I don’t want to be the money person. I don’t think that is a wise practice. Nor do I want anyone else in the program to handle the money.”

Thyer said they tried to get a Walmart credit card to pay for the gift cards but Walmart will not permit them to have credit.

“It was during this process that she (Terry Hawkins) suggested a petty cash fund,” Thyer said. “If that is not a solution you are comfortable with, we just need a different solution that allows us to get that money out so we can provide those incentives.”

Thyer said other counties let Drug Court use a county credit card or their own personal credit cards to pay for the gift cards.

“Those are some of the ideas we have circulated,” Thyer said. “If petty cash is not what you want to do, I understand. We just need a solution.”

Robertson suggested having the county treasurer issue Hawkins a check and having her buy the gift cards.

“It will still be the same thing,” Robertson said. “All we want is a receipt showing she purchased X number and spent X dollars.”

County Judge Woody Wheeless asked Hawkins if she would be comfortable doing it that way.

“Will that work for you?”

Wheeless said.

“If that’s the way you want — the check payable to me — then I will cash it and buy the gift cards,” Hawkins answered.

Thyer said she was satisfied and added that they typically don’t buy more than 15 cards at a time.

“As an elected official I want to make sure things are done properly too, as do you,” Thyer said. “We’re flexible. Our objective is simply to find the best way to withdraw the money.”

The Quorum Court authorized giving Hawkins $500 to purchase gift cards to be renewed as needed.

“That should be more than plenty,” Thyer added.

By Mark Randall