The Vigo County Drug Court is closing at the end of the year, leaving officials on both sides of the issue at odds.
Since the start of 2016, the Vigo County Drug Court has received no funding from the County Council, forcing them to run on a zero-budget. The drug court has been told by the Indiana Judicial Center to shut their doors by the end of the calendar year.
The adopted 2016 budget for Vigo County totals over $52.8 million, and to continue running, officials with the drug court are requesting less than $100,000.
Michael Rader, judge for Superior Court District 5 of Vigo County, has presided as the drug court coordinator since the beginning of the year, and says the decision by the county council to end funding for the program was illogical.
"It just makes no sense not to fund this, but if you're short-sighted and you believe that spending 60 or 80 thousand dollars is simply a line item on your budget and you don't see the ultimate effects, then you would make this kind of decision," Rader says. "As a matter of policy, this makes no sense."
I am confident that the services we provided before, that we still have those services for people in need.
The county council says a consultant from a third party organization called Choices, which is managing the county's drug and alcohol program at the correctional facility, will provide the drug court services. County officials hope this restructuring will save money.
"We do have the services," says Rick Burger, President of the Vigo County Council. "I am confident that the services we provided before, that we still have those services for people in need."
But Rader denies this, and says that drug courts cannot be run through community corrections.
"Drug courts are run by courts, overseen by judges, and they bring together community resources in a very intensive program. The responsibility for the program is ultimately with the judge. You can talk about having alcohol and drug programs, they are wonderful programs, but they are not drug courts. They are two different things."
Rader says the critical component to a drug court is the Drug Court Coordinator, a position previously held by Paul Southwick, who amid staffing cuts, left the position in 2015 after serving with the drug court for 15 years.
That is the critical piece that we lack going forward, and there is no restructuring that would account for that.
As a result, Rader has temporarily overtaken the coordinator position while the drug court phases out, and has delegated remaining responsibilities to current members of the District 5 court, as well as Choices.
"The judge must have as an employee a drug court coordinator," Rader says. "That coordinator must be responsible to the courts. That would be the court's employee. That is the critical piece that we lack in going forward, and there is no restructuring that would account for that."
Even with the struggle for funding, Rader is looking for any way to keep the program open and running into 2017.
"I've done a number of things trying to find some way to salvage this," Rader says. "I've run out of options. I don't have anymore options. I don't know what else to do. Which is not to say I have given up because I have not given up."
The Vigo County Drug Court is expected to close in December.
