For decades, counties have made use of treatment courts as a way to help non- violent offenders, specifically those dealing with mental health or chemical dependency issues, stay out of jail.

Scott County created its own in 2016 and has graduated 43 participants. On Oct. 17, members of the Treatment Court team, along with two recent graduates, were in front of the Scott County Commission, presenting its annual report.

Community Corrections Director Molly Bruner said a rise in drug crimes and overdose deaths led to the creation of the treatment court.

Bruner said there are two major factors in whether a person qualifies for the treatment court: whether the individual would likely continue to commit crimes without intervention and whether the person has chemical or mental health needs.

Bruner said the program generally takes 24-48 months. The first phase is generally getting someone the needed treatment, which is decided on as part of the assessment done on the individual.

The second phase focuses on where someone should go after treatment, perhaps with family or at some type of sober living facility. The final phase of the program focuses on employment and how the person will be connected to the community.

In exchange for successfully completing the program, a graduate is given a stay of adjudication, meaning if probation is successfully completed, the charge is dropped.

But while some, including those in law enforcement, may see the program as a “get out of jail free card,” Shakopee Police Capt. Jamie Pearson, the liaison between law enforcement and the Treatment Court team, said that’s not the case at all.

“This is kind of like probation on steroids,” Pearson said.

Police buy-inAt the beginning of treatment court, a participant generally has weekly updates before the judge. But aside from the judge, and others on the treatment court team, law enforcement is also involved conducting curfew checks on participants.

Bruner said the partnership is two-fold, one aspect giving cops the opportunity “to see that people can change. …They shouldn’t be defined by the [person’s] history or what brought them into the system.”

The partnership also gives participants the chance to see how law enforcement can support them. For example, Shakopee recently donated bikes, car seats, and other needed items to participants.

While Pearson said her role has become easier over the years, particularly with getting cops on board, she recognizes there is still a lot to be done with educating them on how the program works.

“Getting buy-in from my partners can sometimes be difficult,” Pearson said.

County Administrator Lezlie Vermillion said that communities with more law enforcement participation have better results. For example, Shakopee, which has had 18 graduates, had 680 curfew visits by officers to graduates.

Robert Malz, a graduate of the program from Belle Plaine, had 105 visits by the police before he graduated, which he said got to the point “that it was annoying.”

Post graduationMalz said when he was in addiction, his relationship with law enforcement wasn’t positive. Since his time in treatment court, however, he said that relationship has changed drastically.

“The cops I used to run from, they vouch for me,” he said.

One of the officers he once ran from gave Malz a reference for his most recent job. “That speaks volumes,” he said.

Malz said he is able to have conversations with the officers who once spent hours chasing him and later checked on him as part of the program. “It’s a dramatic change,” he said.

While professionals in the program hope graduates will feel comfortable talking with officers and coming to people with needs, Malz said, she said it’s all up to the individual graduate.

Equity concernsOne concern raised during the presentation was the diversity of the program – particularly the number of applicants who were denied access to the program.

“I think that’s something we’re definitely going to have to pull our data out and evaluate as a team to make sure we don’t have bias and make sure our program isn’t set up with just factors that are excluding people of color,” Bruner said.

Since the program began, almost 70% of applicants who don’t identify as white have been denied access to the program. Eighty three out of the 102 applicants accepted as part of the program identify as white.

The number of referrals to Treatment Court is also disproportionate in most cases. For example, 73% of people on probation since the court has been created identified as white while 81% of the referrals were white.

On the flip side, 17% of people on probation in Scott County since 2016 identify as Black or African American, yet only 3% were referred to treatment court. Those who identify as Hispanic or Latino accounted for 14% of the probation population during the time period, yet only 6% of the demographic were referred.

Bruner said she knows her team needs to address the diversity and equity concerns. In the board packet, the administration pointed to similar issues happening across the country.