Treating causes, not symptoms

By CHERY SABOL

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell Municipal Court will have an adult misdemeanor drug court that could be in operation as soon as February.

Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht said Billings is the only other municipal court in the state that has a drug court. She is a firm believer in the court's ability to "stop the revolving door" of defendants going to jail on drug or alcohol charges and then going back into the community to cause the same problems again and again.

For example, she has sentenced eight people in the past year to four months in jail for their third DUIs. Sentencing on a second DUI usually involves 10 days in jail. After they are released from jail, there is no supervision or help to make sure they're not still drinking and driving, Ulbricht said.

The drug court would point qualified defendants to alternatives to jail. It takes a lengthy commitment both from the court and from the defendants. There are four phases to substance-abuse education and treatment that take a year or two to complete, before aftercare begins.

A team composed of Ulbricht, the defendant's attorney, a city attorney, Kalispell Police Department, a treatment provider and the drug court staff reviews each offender before he or she is accepted into the program.

Once accepted, offenders agree to urine testing as often as three times a week for the first five months. Intensive out-patient treatment is also part of the program.

Testing and treatment is paid for by the defendant, if possible. Treatment at Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic - a non profit organization - is paid for on a sliding scale, based on the defendant's income. Medicaid or insurance will also pay, Ulbricht said.

She hopes the court is able to secure grants to cover some of the costs.

Besides substance-abuse crimes such as DUI and misdemeanor possession of drugs, some related offenses such as domestic abuse, forgery or theft might qualify a defendant for drug court if substance abuse is an underlying problem, Ulbricht said.

She estimates that 200 people per year might be eligible for the drug court. The goal for the first year is processing 10 people who might otherwise go to jail.

The program will likely reduce crowding in the county jail, Ulbricht said, but that's not the benefit that she and others are focusing on.

"The bigger benefit to the community is public safety," she said.

People who get help with their substance problems won't be driving drunk or committing other crimes, and make good employees and better parents and spouses, Ulbricht said. Part of the court's plan is to help defendants find suitable, sober housing and vocational opportunities.

The public is invited to work as volunteers for the court or to serve on a steering committee. They can contact Municipal Court at 758-7705.

The city has been working for about a year to put together a drug-court program, Ulbricht said. Local participants recently went to training in Los Angeles through the Bureau of Justice and National Drug Court Institute.

Ulbricht said she's excited for the possibilities the court presents for Kalispell.

"What I'm doing now, I don't believe is most effective. This is a solution that might work," she said.