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Monday, Jan. 4, 1999

San Patricio County to receive drug, alcohol treatment center

$300,000 facility to be housed in juvenile detention building this year

By JENNIFER STUMP
Staff Writer
To help addicted kids kick their drug habits, San Patricio County officials are bringing a $300,000 treatment center to their juvenile facility - a move officials hope will prevent further juvenile crime.
   The county plans to bring the drug and alcohol treatment program to its juvenile detention facility this year, said Orlando Torres, director of juvenile services for the 36th Judicial District.
   Because more than 40 percent of children are drug addicted when they come through the juvenile system, having an in-house treatment program makes sense, Torres said.
   "Their judgment is impaired when they drink or do drugs, then they commit a crime," he said. "Most of the kids that reoffend are using alcohol and drugs."
   Seven of the 20 beds in the San Patricio County Detention Center in Sinton will be converted to a separate drug treatment facility, he said.
   The new center will house juvenile offenders from San Patricio, Aransas, Bee, Live Oak and McMullen counties - the areas covered by the 36th Judicial District - and stop the current practice of sending kids to drug treatment centers around the state.
   "We have to rely on whatever's available now," Torres said.
   The new facility will cost the same as other hospitals - $100 to $118 a day per child - but should have more success because it's close to home, Torres said. The child's entire family will get involved in prevention and counseling programs, he said.
   A licensed chemical dependency counselor will work with the kids, while many of the juvenile department's staff members will receive additional training to work with drug-addicted children, Torres said.
   If the county receives its accreditation in January, the facility could serve about 50 children in 1999, he said.
   San Patricio County will pay about $14,000 for the new treatment center. The rest will come from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Funds, Torres said.
   Juvenile crime has dropped in the area the last three years, but Torres hopes the drug treatment program will make the numbers go down more.
   "We've seen what he can do, and it works," San Patricio County Commissioner Fred Nardini said. "It's due to him and his programs because he involves the whole family. If he has the facilities, he can go even further."
   A judge can refer juveniles for a 45-day intensive substance abuse program that includes at least four hours of regular schoolwork each day and 20 hours per week of drug prevention, Torres said.
   Juveniles and their parents will meet with licensed chemical dependency counselors for 12 weeks after they are released. The program also includes drug prevention for siblings of the children being treated.
   Staff writer Jennifer Stump can be reached at 886-3778 or by e-mail at stumpj@scripps.com

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  © 1998 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.