Public Notice Detail
Congressman Ramstad is Featured Guest at Drug Court Awards Ceremony
Posted: Monday, June 4, 2001
“It is clear that chemical addiction is the major contributor to crime in our society, and promoting chemical dependency treatment and other solutions that help people turn their lives around is both the right thing to do and the cost-effective thing to do,” said Congressman Ramstad. “The people we honor today are true heroes who are helping Drug Court save lives and make our communities safer.”
Chief Judge Burke agreed.
“As Hennepin County judges try to meet increasing caseload demands with limited resources, we sometimes find it difficult to effectively balance enforcement and justice with intervention and positive life change,” he said. “The individuals and organizations we recognize today have accepted this challenge and have helped build a drug court that sets an example of excellence for others nationwide.”
Today’s Distinguished Service Awards recognized individuals and organizations from several disciplines within the Drug Court project. The honorees are:
Dennis Miller is the Drug Court coordinator who has planned, implemented and provided on-going support for the Drug Court program since its inception in 1997. In that time, he has consistently worked for the benefit of the community.
Jeff Kapler is a Hennepin County probation officer who supervised more than 600 Drug Court clients between 1997 and April 2001. He played an instrumental role in establishing cognitive behavioral group therapy services and in implementing the mentoring program for young African American men. He also helped Drug Court develop links to community-based programs and governmental agencies.
Roberta Jones is an assistant county attorney who worked in Drug Court from 1997 until April 2001. She is well respected for her balanced approach in prosecuting drug offenders, holding out hope for individuals’ personal change and the need for community safety.
Richard Carlson, Dean Enge and Roger Swartz are correctional officers at the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility in Plymouth, MN. Since 1997, they have provided weekly transportation services to Drug Court for men and women who have served jail sentences as a condition of their Drug Court involvement.
Charles Harden is a volunteer who escorts Drug Court participants to chemical health services and drug testing.
Angie Dawson, Jodi Lorge and Devetta McIntosh provide clerking services to Drug Court. They have displayed extraordinary patience and professionalism in managing what is considered one of the most demanding jobs in the Hennepin County court system.
African American Family Services provides primary outpatient chemical dependency treatment to Drug Court clients and their families. The organization also provides anger management and life skills counseling, as well as relapse prevention/aftercare related services. AAFS has partnered with Drug Court since 1997 and has served about 700 Drug Court clients.
Stairstep Foundation established the Community Reclamation Project in 1997 to develop a mentoring network in the local community of faith that would reach out to African American youth. The project positioned the foundation to respond to the Drug Court’s desire to create a community mentoring program.
National statistics show that substance abuse is a factor in 80 percent of all criminal cases entering the courts each year. In its nearly four years of operation, Hennepin County’s Drug Court has served more than 7,000 felony drug offenders. Primary features of Drug Court include early and intensive intervention, required full-time employment and treatment, and greater accountability by requiring defendants to regularly appear in court. Cost savings have been achieved by a reduction in the time from arrest to first appearance and decreased disposition time.
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals has said Hennepin County’s Drug Court is one of the top five drug court systems in the nation, becoming a model for other states as the approach has gained acceptance nationwide in effectively handling substance offenders.