Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Drug Court celebrates 20-year anniversary
Goal of Drug Court program is ‘to break the cycle of addiction and the crimes that accompany it’
WEST CHESTER » Common Pleas Court Judge Phyllis Streitel has a short speech she gives to the people who have been accepted to participate in Chester County’s successful Drug Court program, some wise counsel she hopes will allay their fears and provide them with touchstone for the coming six months.
In some cases, Streitel said in a recent interview in her chambers on the sixth floor of the county Justice Center, the faces of the men and women who stand before her reveal traces of fear, and sometimes of ambivalences.
“They can be terrified,” she said of the enrollees. “They’ve been told they can’t make it. And
other times they are people who feel they don’t have a problem.” They are there in the hopes that whatever criminal charges they have found themselves facing will somehow disappear. What she tries to give them is a glimpse of hope, and a stern warning: Follow the program and you’ll get better; violate it enough times and you’ll be back in trouble.
“I tell them two things: Keep an open mind, and follow the requirements,” she said, discussing the specifics of Drug Court on its 20th anniversary, ceremonies for which were held Nov. 15 in the county’s Historic Courthouse, where it all began in the fall of 1997.
“If you do, you will begin to feel yourself change,” she said, reciting her speech. “And you will be amazed at how the program will help you transform yourself. That’s the key. That’s what happens in the program.”
In the invitation that she sent to the dozens of people invited to share in the anniversary event, — Streitel, the county’s third Drug Court supervising judge, and a six-plus year veteran of the program — made it clear the objective of the court and the fiscal and human benefits it has provided.
“The goal is to break the cycle of addiction and the crimes that accompany it,” she wrote. “With its success, Chester County Drug Court has reduced costs for the county and makes our communities safer. It is making a difference in countless ways, from reducing drug use and recidivism, to helping the individual to become accountable and to achieve an independent, sober lifestyle.
“At this time, more than ever, due to the opioid epidemic, Drug Court is saving lives,” she said.
According to statistics from the county Adult Probation, Parole and Pre-Trial Services department, since 1997 more than 2,350 people have been accepted into the program, with over 1,224 participants having successfully completed it. Upon their graduation after sixth months, 98 percent of the graduates were either employed or in school.
Because it diverts criminal defendants (largely) from spending time in jail, it has saved the county taxpayers money. The office estimated that since 2010 more than 35,000 days of incarceration were saved, at a cost of $74 per day and a total expense of $2.63 million.
Christoper Murphy, the head of Adult Probation, said the program had proven its effectiveness over the two decades since it began. And it had done so in personal terms as well as those economic benefits.
“Most of what we hear is how bad the opioid crisis is, and it is bad,” he said, following the anniversary event. “But we don’t hear so much about people overcoming their addictions. One recent graduate who was about to have a baby thanked the Drug Court team. She never saw herself living, let alone having a child. So many parents thank the program for giving them their children back.
“What is unique about this program is that you have a team, led by the judge, of dedicated individuals,” — the District Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, probation officers, pretrial services officers, and treatment providers — “all working
together to help the Drug Court participant overcome their addictions that led to their criminal behavior.
“I have seen a lot of programs come and go over the 34 years I have been involved in the criminal justice system,” Murphy said. “The fact that this program has been in place for 20 years is a testament to the effectiveness of the program.”
In her interview, Streitel said that success resulted many times because of the role of the court, with its ability to immediately and without argument sanction those who violate the terms of the program, either by returning drug use or failing to meet the requirements of treatment and vocational advance.
“That seems to be the secret ingredient,” she said. “People can get treatment in other places. But when they are engaged in Drug Court, they have the authority of the coir hanging over them. They also have the personal interaction with someone in authority who genuinely cares and is invested in their success. That’s the judge. It
is different from the normal here.”
At the ceremony held earlier this month, three participants graduated from the program, meaning that they had shaped their lives to fit the components of the program, and in return were allowed to have the criminal charges against them dismissed. The graduation comes after passing through four phases, each with its accompanying honors and a personal essay penned by the participant about their experiences.
Excerpts from some of those essays were read by probation officers involved
with Drug Court — Lisa Viola, Andrew Guarino, Jenn Aubry, and Rebecca Showers. One graduate spoke on behalf of all in recounting what the program had meant to him.
With more than 150 people in attendance in historic Courtroom One, including state and national elected officials and their representatives, and current and former county Common Pleas judges, President Judge Jacqueline Carroll Cody gave a brief history of the court, stemming from a suggestion by then-President Judge Thomas Gavin to development by Cody and others,
to her supervision, that of Judge William P. Mahon starting in 2001, and onto Streitel’s involvement.
Mahon, who championed the Drug Court movement vociferously over the years, was also given the Osceola Wesley Award given to those dedicated to helping others overcome addiction, named for the late Coatesville antidrug activist.
“It was so upbeat,” said Streitel of the evening. “People got a cross between an educational experience, and the emotional component of the
graduation.”
Following her interview about the program’s anniversary, Streitel took a visitor down the hall from her chambers to her courtroom, where a cast of 16 or so members of the Drug Court team had gathered for a regular update session. Looking out over the faces of those in the court, she smiled. “Everyone is peace and love,” she said. “We all work together.”