"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - CN Strengthening Juvenile Drug Court

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - The Cherokee Nation will be strengthening its juvenile drug court program, along with its adolescent treatment center, thanks in part to grants totaling more than $1 million from The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The tribe was one of only three recipients of the grants across the United States, with the other two being the Colorado Judicial Department in Denver and the Superior Court of California in Ventura County.

“This added funding will help us be able to better serve those affected by alcohol and drugs through a system of services designed to bring the youth, families and communities into harmony,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “This system fosters leadership by providing judicial treatment, support and services to meet the needs of the youth and their families.”

The grant funding will be used to implement the Reclaiming Futures model in the Cherokee Nation’s Healing to Wellness Court. Reclaiming Futures is a special initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that offers a new approach to help teenagers caught up in the cycle of substance abuse and crime.

“With this latest investment, the Reclaiming Futures model will now be in 26 communities across the nation,” said Laura Nissen, national program director for Reclaiming Futures. “We are honored that the federal government is supporting this innovative approach and helping us spread the model to even more communities where teens need our help.”

The tribe’s Healing to Wellness Court is designed through a Native American point of view where culture and tradition are utilized in the treatment process. The program empowers the participants to work through their substance abuse issues through counseling, accountability and supervision.

“The youth are sent to us either from our own Cherokee Nation District Court or transferred to us from an area Oklahoma State Court,” said Jennifer Kirby, Cherokee Nation Assistant Manager for Human Services. “We focus on the positive aspects and help a child who wants to be helped. Our elements are more culturally sensitive and respectful than the traditional court system. We work with both the family and child, and tap into the social service side as well.”

The Healing to Wellness Court consists of four phases of treatment lasting from 12 to 18 months. During that time, the participants work with court advocates, the court team and the judge, who has full and final authority over decisions made related to the plan for each phase, incentives or sanctions. Currently, the court only serves Cherokee Nation citizens in Adair and Cherokee counties. Because of the new funding through this grant, the Court will be able to expand its services to Native American youth of all federally recognized tribes and to expand to other counties within the Cherokee Nation jurisdiction in the future.

As part of the funding, the Court will also utilize the Cherokee Nation’s Jack Brown Center, an adolescent treatment center that offers both in-patient and out-patient counseling services. The Center is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

“The Jack Brown Center is very excited about this grant partnership and the opportunity to provide a much needed service for our native youth in the effort to regain a drug-free lifestyle,” said Darren Dry, Jack Brown Center Director.

As part of the program, the Jack Brown Center will provide outpatient treatment for participants in the Court. The added funding will allow for the expansion of professional staff as well, including a cultural specialist for Court participants, additional counselors and the ability to offer additional treatment options and more resource to assist such as special classes, self-esteem promotions and additional counseling sessions, both group and individual.

Cherokee Nation will be receiving up to $425,000 from OJJDP for a four-year period and up to $200,000 per year for four years from SAMHSA.