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Saratoga County Treatment Court
“It’s about Courage” said Father Peter G. Young, founder of Peter Young Housing Industry and Treatment (PYHIT), one of the first upstate treatment programs in New York. Founded in 1959, PYHIT continues its mission today, providing services to the homeless and formerly incarcerated. His “three-legged stool” approach to sobriety stated that long-term sobriety requires a comprehensive approach-treatment, housing and employment.
The District Attorney’s Office Oversees Saratoga County Treatment Court
Community safety, punishment and deterrence are three traditional theories behind prosecution, but there are many non-violent crimes for which prison, jail or incarceration may not be the appropriate outcome. Rather, such instances can be viewed as an opportunity to change aberrant behavior. Crimes of addiction, such as non-violent felonies and misdemeanors, may qualify for alternative sentencing operations, including Saratoga County Treatment Court.
Saratoga County Treatment Court (SCTC)
The Saratoga County Treatment Court (formerly Drug Treatment Court) began in March 2003. Under this program, an offender is convicted of a non-violent felony and placed on a term of probation. One of the conditions of probation is to participate in SCTC, which requires weekly appearances before the County Court judge and random drug screens, among other requirements, to monitor compliance in treatment. By entering the program, the participant can often avoid jail, but agrees to change their life and further, that termination from the program will lead to incarceration in a state correctional facility. The program’s motto can be summed up in three key phrases:
- Show Up: Without weekly appearances before the Court and your peers in SCTC, very little progress can be made to effectuate change in your life. Responsibility begins with showing up.
- Try Hard: Changing the thought processes and behaviors that have led you into this trouble will not be easy. SCTC is designed to help you, but the change must come from within each participant.
- Be Honest: Addicts, by their very nature, lie to themselves and everyone around them. No one wants to be addicted to any substance, legal or illegal. Regardless of how it began and whatever led you down this path, you must be honest with yourself to address what needs to be changed.
Changing one’s life can be more difficult than simply serving time, but the SCTC staff provides support to give the participant the best shot that they will ever have at overcoming their addiction. The County Court Judge, a Case Manager, an Assistant District Attorney, an Assistant Public Defender and a Probation Officer work with the participant to guide them through the process of recovery and abstinence, teaching and reinforcing life skills, in the hopes that the participant will maintain a drug and crime free life as a contributing member of society, no longer involved with the criminal justice system. While not all successfully complete the program, the results are certainly encouraging, with a high success rate and a low recidivism rate.
Conclusion
Addiction knows no gender, age, ethnicity or economic background. Everyone knows someone who has struggled with substance abuse. Prior to these Alternatives to Incarceration programs, the criminal justice system often tried to incarcerate such offenders for longer and longer periods of time. The harsh lesson that was learned is that unless the offenders are taught a different way to live and to cope with the challenges that all of us face, upon their release from custody, they will likely engage in the same destructive behaviors, causing more pain to themselves, their families and the community at large. Generations of offenders have come through the criminal justice system in this fashion and these Alternatives to Incarceration programs are an effort to try something new and which seem to be working.