Drug Court, an approach started in Miami in the 1980s, allows charges to be set aside for defendants who agree to undergo an intense therapy and drug monitoring program. Participants stay out of jail as they meet objectives, such as registering to vote, completing a high school graduation equivalency, holding a job and paying fees for drug treatment.
 
As they complete tasks, they move through three phases of the program. At the end of the last phase, if they remain drug-free for six months, they graduate and their charges are dropped. If they fail to meet the requirements or commit new crimes, they can be sentenced to prison on their original charges.

Many people in the largely rural county of Escambia hoped the program would work here, and most say they see positive results. Just more than a year later, the program has secured state and private grant funding, hired a clerk and offered a new start to 67 defendants with drug or alcohol addictions.
 
So far, Escambia's Drug Court has graduated 13 participants, with 42 active in various stages of the program. Several were sentenced after they failed to follow program guidelines. Eight have satisfied all requirements except for payment of mandatory fees. Thirty-five are employed. Of the graduates, two have been rearrested.
 
"I think it's been successful," said Circuit Judge Bradley Byrne. "We've had several people complete it successfully, and of the group about to graduate, I think any of them re-offending is unlikely. Time will tell. Even with a few re-offending, at least for the year they were in the program, they were giving back to the community, working and doing positive things, paying their own way versus living in jail at public expense."
 
A few things have changed for the program, said Denise Alverson, a court reporter who has worked closely with Drug Court. She said alumni have formed a peer review group to advise current participants and officials.
 
Although the program is intended to last for a year for each participant, the judge can extend aftercare for graduates for up to six months. New computer technology keeps closer tabs on participants, with case information and statistics on the whole group or a few individuals accessible with a few clicks of a computer mouse.
 
Officers are shopping for a pager system that will allow supervisors to track participants and notify them of testing. A global positioning system already in use for community corrections here may be used for Drug Court as well, according to Jerry Caylor, who supervises Drug Court participants.
 
Updates in drug testing make it more difficult for participants to cheat. Some participants have tried to conceal drug use by drinking a lot of water to flush their systems. Others have tried to plan and time their drug use according to when they suspected they would be tested. Their plan was to appear drug-free on the tests.
 
New tests, however, can determine if flushing has occurred, and can detect even minute traces of illegal drugs in urine.
 
Testing is more random, catching some participants off guard and with drugs in their systems.
 
Even when participants are sentenced out of the program, Byrne said, they benefit from the time they spent in drug treatment.
 
"I had one tell me he was ashamed because he failed," Byrne said. "I told him, 'No, you didn't complete the program, but you are becoming a better person just by trying.' How long do you give somebody to complete Drug Court? You do have progress in all of them, and our program is adapting so people can succeed."