Snohomish County Juvenile Offender Drug Treatment Court (AKA, Drug Court)
As a parent of a child that is addicted to drugs or alcohol, you feel many emotions. Anger, sadness, fear, stress, worry, and helplessness are just a few. You are witnessing your own flesh and blood, the child that you brought into the world, watched them learn to walk, talk, and ride a bike without their training wheels, now destroying themselves-and sometimes taking others down with them. You may go days, weeks, or months wondering where your son or daughter is, how they're feeding and clothing themselves, or getting the money to support their habit. Are they prostituting? Are they stealing? Have they joined a gang? Is the next phone call going to be from the police or the hospital? Are you ever going to see your child alive again? This is the reality for parents of addicts and runaways.
You may find yourself missing work, staying up all night with worry, becoming a detective, searching for leads on their Facebook pages. Knocking on doors of places that you would never have set foot in before. Questioning strangers at the bus stations, calling the police or the hospitals. Risking your own life, wandering the streets of Seattle and Everett in search of any sign that your child is still alive. Meanwhile, the rest of the family suffers. Marriages are pushed to the point of destruction, other children are affected. The focus of all energy has become the addict, the at-risk youth. So what can you do? How can you stop this insanity and regain some control over the situation? Is there anything out there for parents that want to help their addicted kid?
One possible solution, offered in Snohomish County, is Juvenile Offender Drug Court.
Juvenile Offender Drug Court is a program offered through Snohomish County Juvenile court at Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett, Washington. For juvenile offenders (youth with criminal charges), the drug court program offers a rehabilitative and therapeutic approach to substance abuse for at-risk youth and their families. The drug court team is made up of a partnership between the Judge, Defense Attorney, Probation Counselor and the Treatment Provider. There is also the additional support of a Community Education Program Specialist that will help the youth navigate educational opportunities.
At court, youth have the opportunity to report to the team how things are going. The drug court team evaluates the progress (or lack of, if that's the case) and either give positive re-enforcement, or order sanctions, if needed. Positives can be anything from words of encouragement and applause, to gift cards for movies or restaurants. Sanctions from the court could be: court ordered community service, 12-step meeting attendance, or even house-arrest or detention time. Drug court expectations are that the youth attend every court session. The youth has random urinalysis, may be required to attend support groups or family counseling, and is guided to be in an education program or employment. If they do not show up to court, a warrant will be issued. As the youth progresses, the requirements to appear in court decrease. Eventually, the youth will graduate with a celebration from the program and move on with their life.
Drug court can be frustrating, it is a major commitment and takes up quite a bit of your time. You may not see the immediate results that you were hoping for, and it is not an absolute guarantee that it will be the solution to all of your problems. You probably know that there is no "controlling" an addiction. You can, however, "interrupt" the using and you can make it more difficult for a person to use. It is especially important in adolescents, whose brains are still developing, to "interrupt" the damage process as much as possible. Drug court provides an alternative to the methods that criminalize the behaviors resulting from drug use behaviors.
To learn more about Juvenile Drug Court:
Follow this link to a handbook that explains the process and terms used in Snohomish County's Juvenile Drug Court.
Click here to View a report from the U.S. Department of Justice on Juvenile Drug Court Strategies in Practice,
or call Snohomish County Denney Juvenile Justice Center (425)388-7800, select extension 7.
The video below (from the Reclaiming Futures website) is based on a real juvenile drug court program, similar to what you would experience
in Snohomish County's:
You may find yourself missing work, staying up all night with worry, becoming a detective, searching for leads on their Facebook pages. Knocking on doors of places that you would never have set foot in before. Questioning strangers at the bus stations, calling the police or the hospitals. Risking your own life, wandering the streets of Seattle and Everett in search of any sign that your child is still alive. Meanwhile, the rest of the family suffers. Marriages are pushed to the point of destruction, other children are affected. The focus of all energy has become the addict, the at-risk youth. So what can you do? How can you stop this insanity and regain some control over the situation? Is there anything out there for parents that want to help their addicted kid?
One possible solution, offered in Snohomish County, is Juvenile Offender Drug Court.
Juvenile Offender Drug Court is a program offered through Snohomish County Juvenile court at Denney Juvenile Justice Center in Everett, Washington. For juvenile offenders (youth with criminal charges), the drug court program offers a rehabilitative and therapeutic approach to substance abuse for at-risk youth and their families. The drug court team is made up of a partnership between the Judge, Defense Attorney, Probation Counselor and the Treatment Provider. There is also the additional support of a Community Education Program Specialist that will help the youth navigate educational opportunities.
At court, youth have the opportunity to report to the team how things are going. The drug court team evaluates the progress (or lack of, if that's the case) and either give positive re-enforcement, or order sanctions, if needed. Positives can be anything from words of encouragement and applause, to gift cards for movies or restaurants. Sanctions from the court could be: court ordered community service, 12-step meeting attendance, or even house-arrest or detention time. Drug court expectations are that the youth attend every court session. The youth has random urinalysis, may be required to attend support groups or family counseling, and is guided to be in an education program or employment. If they do not show up to court, a warrant will be issued. As the youth progresses, the requirements to appear in court decrease. Eventually, the youth will graduate with a celebration from the program and move on with their life.
Drug court can be frustrating, it is a major commitment and takes up quite a bit of your time. You may not see the immediate results that you were hoping for, and it is not an absolute guarantee that it will be the solution to all of your problems. You probably know that there is no "controlling" an addiction. You can, however, "interrupt" the using and you can make it more difficult for a person to use. It is especially important in adolescents, whose brains are still developing, to "interrupt" the damage process as much as possible. Drug court provides an alternative to the methods that criminalize the behaviors resulting from drug use behaviors.
To learn more about Juvenile Drug Court:
Follow this link to a handbook that explains the process and terms used in Snohomish County's Juvenile Drug Court.
Click here to View a report from the U.S. Department of Justice on Juvenile Drug Court Strategies in Practice,
or call Snohomish County Denney Juvenile Justice Center (425)388-7800, select extension 7.
The video below (from the Reclaiming Futures website) is based on a real juvenile drug court program, similar to what you would experience
in Snohomish County's:
UA Testing Information
Snohomish County UA Call Line: 425-953-1346
Snohomish County Web Drug Testing Notification System: www.mycallin.com
You must call the above number or check in at the above website every day (including weekends and Holidays) between the hours of 5:00am – 3:59pm. The UA Call Line and website notification system closes at 4:00pm daily. Follow the prompts and enter in your unique client ID number. If it tells you that you are REQUIRED to test on that day, you must provide a UA on that day during the hours below:
Monday – Friday
7:00 a.m. -11:45 a.m. (please arrive by 11:30 a.m.)
1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (please arrive by 5:45 p.m.)
Please arrive by 11:30 a.m. if submitting your sample before the lunch hour and before 5:45 p.m. in the evenings. If you sign in before 11:30 a.m., you must produce your sample before noon. You will not be given the opportunity to come back in the afternoon.
Saturday and Sunday
7:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. only (you must arrive by 11:30 a.m.)
Please arrive on time and ready to produce your sample.
UA Testing Site
Cordant Laboratories
Located in the lower level at:
1316 Wall St.
Suite B-1 (down half set of stairs)
Everett, WA 98201
Snohomish County UA Call Line: 425-953-1346
Snohomish County Web Drug Testing Notification System: www.mycallin.com
You must call the above number or check in at the above website every day (including weekends and Holidays) between the hours of 5:00am – 3:59pm. The UA Call Line and website notification system closes at 4:00pm daily. Follow the prompts and enter in your unique client ID number. If it tells you that you are REQUIRED to test on that day, you must provide a UA on that day during the hours below:
Monday – Friday
7:00 a.m. -11:45 a.m. (please arrive by 11:30 a.m.)
1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (please arrive by 5:45 p.m.)
Please arrive by 11:30 a.m. if submitting your sample before the lunch hour and before 5:45 p.m. in the evenings. If you sign in before 11:30 a.m., you must produce your sample before noon. You will not be given the opportunity to come back in the afternoon.
Saturday and Sunday
7:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. only (you must arrive by 11:30 a.m.)
Please arrive on time and ready to produce your sample.
UA Testing Site
Cordant Laboratories
Located in the lower level at:
1316 Wall St.
Suite B-1 (down half set of stairs)
Everett, WA 98201