Kentucky Court of Justice
Breckinridge/Grayson/Meade Drug Court program to hold first graduation ceremony June 29 in Hardinsburg

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Breckinridge/Grayson/Meade County Drug Court program will recognize the first participant to successfully complete the program at a graduation ceremony Tuesday, June 29. The ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. CDT at the Breckinridge County Courthouse in Hardinsburg and will be open to the public.

Erin Bohannon, program supervisor for the Bullitt County Drug Court program, will be the guest speaker for the ceremony.

Chief Circuit Court Judge Robert A. Miller and Circuit Court Judge Bruce T. Butler, who volunteer their time to conduct Drug Court proceedings for the Breckinridge/Grayson/Meade County Drug Court program, will preside over the graduation ceremony. Judges Miller and Butler serve the three-county judicial circuit.  

Invitees to the ceremony include law enforcement representatives, elected officials, attorneys and representatives of drug treatment facilities.

The Breckinridge/Grayson/Meade County Drug Court program began in May 2007. There are 41 participants in the program.

Kentucky Drug Court
Drug Court is proving to be a positive solution to a serious social problem. The success of Drug Court can be measured in the number of lives changed and the cost savings to Kentucky taxpayers. The program has had a significant impact on reducing rearrest, reconviction and reincarceration rates. The program has resulted in increased payment of delinquent child support and improved employment rates. For every $1 spent on Drug Court graduates, the state saves $2.72 on what it would have spent on incarcerating these individuals.

The mission is to provide a court-supervised treatment alternative that stops illicit drug use and related criminal activity and promotes a positive life change through substance abuse education and treatment.
 
How Drug Court Works
Drug Court coordinates the efforts of the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social services and treatment communities to actively intervene and break the cycle of substance abuse, addiction and crime.

The program consists of three phases that last a total of at least one year and are followed by aftercare. Drug Court staff and participants work together to develop individual program plans with specific responsibilities and goals with timetables. Plans include group, family and individual counseling; frequent and random urine testing; education and vocational training; scheduled payments of restitution, child support and court fees; and health and community activities. Participants report directly to their Drug Court judge, who rewards progress and sanctions noncompliance.

When participants successfully complete the program, charges may be dismissed through diversion, or conditional discharge may be granted through probation. Judges who participate in Drug Court volunteer their time to the program. Most of the program’s funding comes from state funds approved through the Kentucky General Assembly.

Drug Court programs statewide are administered through the Administrative Office of the Courts, Department of Drug Court (Kentucky Drug Court), in Frankfort. The AOC is the operations arm of the Kentucky Court of Justice and supports the activities of approximately 3,400 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC prepares a biennial budget draft and executes the Judicial Branch budget.

For more information about Drug Court, visit http://courts.ky.gov/stateprograms/Drug+Court/.