For Hard-Core Addicts, Sobriety Court Provides Hope

Editor's note: This article is part of a series about efforts by police, city and school district officials and concerned residents to help teens and adults affected by depression.

A program that helps hard-core addicts get the help they need will celebrate another milestone next week.

The Sobriety Court program, headed by Judge Marla Parker, will hold a ceremony March 31 at for four graduates. Parker said since the program's first ceremony in 2005, about half a dozen people each year mark the end of their intensive, two-year probation with an event attended by family, friends and community members.

Parker said she used to wonder whether the sentences she meted out for drunk driving were doing what she intended them to do. 

"I would sentence someone and would never see them again," she said. "I wondered, what I order people to do, is it working? Is it accomplishing the goal I wanted to achieve with sentencing?"

The Sobriety Court and Drug Court movement, Parker said, is "probably the most researched tool ever." The two-year program requires the offender to work with a team that consists of the judge, defense attorney, prosecutor, a therapist, probation officers and the Sobriety Court coordinator.

Participants must be residents of Farmington or Farmington Hills who have a prior drunken driving, substance abuse or alcohol-related conviction, had a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher (the legal limit is .08), or who scored a certain amount on an alcohol risk assessment.

Once offenders are arraigned on the Monday after their arrest, they enter a plea and then attend a pretrial conference that same afternoon. Parker said the sooner someone gets into treatment, the better the outcome.

In the first phase, the person meets with the team every two weeks and must submit to drug and alcohol testing daily, if not more often, she said. Participation in a 12-step program is required, along with community service.

The group meetings require a high level of accountability, Parker said. Often, a person who is addicted will tell his or her probation officer, attorney and therapist different things. Having everyone in one place eliminates that problem.

"If they've done everything they're supposed to do, there's a lot of group support," she said. "If not, we decide as a team what the sanction is going to be. We all spend a great deal of time debating ... everything is recorded, and we keep a record of what's been done in the past."

Sanctions are immediate and may include anything from having to write an essay to spending time in jail, Parker said.

In the second phase, meetings occur once a month and requirements include a driver intervention program. That includes sitting in on a panel discussion with people whose lives have been affected by a drunken driving accident.

Rewards for completing each phase include certificates with copies of the Optimist Creed, a special coin and a book. In the fourth phase, there are no more meetings with the judge, and the emphasis turns to moving people back into their regular routine.

"The theory is to take a look at people's lives," Parker said. "Once you get them sober, can we get their life on track, so once they're done with probation, they're in good shape."

The coolest thing about the program, she said, is that it works: Of all the people who have graduated, not one has had another drunken driving offense.

"To me, that statistic is just awesome," Parker said, "because that's not what would happen in a typical drunk driving case."

Program graduates are also very loyal; some have come back to work with those in the program. Parker said newer people are often overwhelmed by the program requirements—most of which have to be completed even though the participant has lost his or her driver's license.

"It's nice that people who have been through that can help," she said.

As with all drug and alcohol treatment programs, Sobriety Court doesn't work for everyone. Parker said she has ended up sending some people to jail to serve out the maximum sentence for their offense.

"Not everyone gets through the program," she said. "It works for some and not others. But when it does, it's awesome."

One man in his 50s purchased his first home. Another restored relationships with his children.

"It is so absolutely rewarding to see people who are now invested in their relationships with their community, and in relationships with their family that they've never had. You can see them change right before your eyes."

That's not only a benefit for the individual but also the community, as parents are able to pay child support and people become working, tax-paying residents, Parker said. Sobriety Court participants come from all walks of life, but she has noticed they are skewing younger and younger.

"We're seeing a lot of 19- and 20-year-olds on their second drunk driving conviction," she said. A benefit of Sobriety Court, especially for participants that young, is that it takes a look at why the person is drinking, whether it's depression, family history or some other issue that can then be addressed, Parker said.

"The other thing that's so moving is how many people have said, 'I was hoping and praying for something to help me with my problem,' " she said.

The cost of Sobriety Court, which is about $15,000-20,000 annually, is almost entirely covered by the 47th District Court budget, Parker said. Participants are charged a fee over and above the court costs associated with their offense, which may be covered by insurance.

Coming next week: We'll talk with therapists about what they see happening among young people and their families.