U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar met with local officials behind Crow Wing County's Drug Court rehabilitation and diversion program Friday, as well as some of its recovering addict graduates and participants.
About 50 people attended the meeting in the jury assembly room at the county judicial center.
Drug court is for offenders who pleaded guilty to a low-level substance abuse crime, such as drug possession. Rather than going to jail, participants must adhere to a strict schedule of mandatory meetings with probation officers, drug tests to make sure they're staying sober, community service hours, and education/employment plans.
In addition to helping the offenders themselves turn their lives around, drug court is intended to help the county as a whole by preventing recidivism, or criminals reoffending even after they serve time in jail.
One woman who graduated from the program in 2014 said she had a bachelor's degree-and a corporate insurance job in the Twin Cities-before she became addicted to painkillers, and later, heroin. A charge in Crow Wing County led her to drug court. Encouraged to cut out her old friends that had been using, she turned instead to her fellow drug court participants.
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"These people are my family and friends now," she said of the drug court. "They're my rock. I probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for this program."
She has been sober for three and half years. She now works at a retirement agency, and is going to be married.
David Hermerding, chief deputy county attorney, said the program could help more people were it not for a limited amount of funding and program size. Right now, the program has capacity for about 25 people at a time, and they're at capacity.
"Our jail is full," he said. "There are probably 10-15 more people sitting in our jail next door we'd probably bring in (to drug court) but the money and the resources aren't there."
Following the meeting, Klobuchar, who formerly served as Hennepin County Attorney, said she was impressed with familial bond among those involved with the program, which made Crow Wing County's Drug Court stand out from similar programs in other parts of the state.
"The difference that I saw here compared to some (more populous) counties, is that they've gotten to know each other," she said. "They're their own family and support group. And I thought that was a beautiful part of this. It really is inspiring."
Minnesota Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa, was at Friday's meeting and said he has attended several of the drug court graduations. He, too, was struck by the bond between participants.
"You can kind of feel their energy, sort of playing and working off of each other," he said.
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Heintzeman added the Legislature had recently raised state funding for speciality courts like the drug court by $700,000.
Visit crowwing.us/68/Drug-Court to learn more about drug court.
ZACH KAYSER may be reached at 218-855-5860 or Zach.Kayser@brainerddispatch.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ZWKayser .
