New substance abuse court to provide treatment for repeating offenders

Home City News New substance abuse court to provide treatment for repeating offenders
New substance abuse court to provide treatment for repeating offenders
Hillsdale's city hall./Wikipedia
Hillsdale’s city hall./Wikipedia

The Hillsdale District Court recently announced plans to create a substance abuse court, which will create intensive probation treatment plans for repeating offenders, according to Judge of the District Court Sara Lisznyai, who is heading up the project.

“The track record of these courts is incredible,” said Lisznyai, “which is why we think it’s worth looking into.”

Lisznyai was recently awarded a $26,000 grant from the state of Michigan to help fund the creation of the substance abuse court. The grant will also be used to extensively train her staff on not only various treatment options, but also on why the new court is vital to reducing the recidivism rate.

“Treatments will be about changing patterns,” Lisznyai said.

Lisznyai, along with representatives from the prosecutor’s office and the defense bar, were invited to a two day symposium on addiction science, which helped pave the way for the approval of the grant.

The grant does not cover the operation of the substance abuse court, but Lisznyai is already preparing an application for another grant to cover those costs, which would take effect in Oct. 2017.

“We have had an outpouring of support from the prosecutor’s office and the defense bar for this substance abuse court. We have a great climate for its opening,” said Lisznyai.

Lisznyai recently appointed Probation Officer Kevin Shirk as the administrator of the program, and is in the process of planning a test-run for the court, in which it will open from Aug. 2017 to the end of Sept. 2017.

Substance abuse courts help create treatment plans for eligible individuals, while supervising them closely. Treatment can range anywhere from finding employment for abusers to scheduling regular and random drug tests.

“The benefit of this court is to stop the cycle,” said Lisznyai. “These people could have completely different outcomes because of this court, instead of becoming repeat offenders.”

Those deemed eligible for the new program by probation officers or counselors will appear before Lisznyai once a week, rather than reporting to a probation officer once a month.

“This program will allow us to stay up to speed with them and monitor their progress closely,” Lisznyai said.

The District Court, along with Lisznyai, are still learning what the implications and the possible benefits could be for Hillsdale County if a substance abuse court was opened, according to Lisznyai.

“We are really excited about it, and know that we are taking steps in the right direction,” Lisznyai said.