News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Governor Bill Lee announced Thursday his intent to expand and provide additional resources to the state’s recovery court system.
Overton County Recovery Court Judge Daryl Colson said expanding the system would benefit those struggling with drug and substance abuse.
“Getting people engaged in long-term treatment is the most effective way to avoid repeat offenders,” Colson said. “If individuals come through the criminal justice system and they get no treatment and no program, then their odds of repeating an offense are significantly higher than those who go through a program and successfully complete it. Especially a program as intensive as recovery court.”
Lee’s proposal includes eliminating the state’s $180 expungement fee, expanding education opportunities to inmates, and supplementing mental health efforts in the recovery court system.
Colson said he wants to see the system include people with prior domestic assault charges.
“Those individuals are not eligible by statute to participate in recovery courts,” Colson said. “If you think about it, a whole lot of domestic violence that’s happened is the product of substance abuse and addiction issues. To me, it makes sense to allow those individuals to participate in a program like that. If they’re able to, then you reduce the likelihood of future domestic violence.”
Colson said providing sufficient mental health resources to the Upper Cumberland would also benefit those going through recovery court programs.
“A whole lot of our participants have co-occurring disorders and mental health issues,” Colson said. “We certainly need more resources to deal with that, and funding to get people the help they need. A lot of times, the drug addiction that we see is the product of underlying mental health issues that are not being adequately treated. We need more resources to address that.”
Lee’s proposal would put an additional $1.7 million towards the recovery court system and expand capacity by approximately 20 percent. A press release indicates the state will save nearly $20,000 per individual in recovered correction costs per year.
