DeKalb County Drug Court gives convicted addicts an opportunity to receive treatment before incarceration.

The program, Choosing Life and Ending Abuse Now (CLEAN), was established in October 2006 to give nonviolent substance abuse offenders a drug-free way of life, according the court’s Web site.

“They have to want to come in,” said drug court coordinator Marilyn Stromborg. “They choose us and we choose them.”

The applicants are selected with tests and screening. After being accepted into the program, they plead their crime to the drug court or are dismissed to jail, Stromborg said.

The program takes about 14 months, without relapse, to complete.

Some of the requirements include DeKalb County residency, calls to Stromborg by 8:30 a.m. every day to check in, frequent and random drug testing and employment to work to pay back restitution.

Joe Hanning, the drug court’s probation officer, makes scheduled and random visits at least once a week to the participants’ homes to make sure they are in compliance with the program and with treatment providers.

There are currently about 17 participants ranging in age from 18 to early 50s, Stromborg said, adding that the average participant is in his or her mid– to late–30s.

Team members of the drug court believe the treatment works and will not only benefit the abuser, but also community.

“It is a very positive program for participants,” Hanning said.

Ron Matekaitis, DeKalb County state’s attorney and drug court team member, originally thought punishment of the abusers was the best course of action to ensure public safety. After working with the program, Matekaitis now believes the approach of treatment mixed with punishment is better to enhance public safety long-term.

“Even if you lock up an addict, they are still going to be an addict when they get out,” Matekaitis said.

The state of Illinois allows someone to go through the program only once.

Other states and counties have drug courts similar to DeKalb.

“There are over 2,000 across the nation,” Hanning said.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.