Georgia County Government - October 2008 - (Page 44) UNION COUNTY continued from page 43 “If you address a problem like this in a multi-disciplinary manner, experience shows you get the best results,” Watkins points out. “Laws have also been instrumental in arresting the problem. Several years ago the legislature enacted laws requiring signatures of individuals purchasing over-the-counter drugs used in home meth production, like pseudoephedrine (a common ingredient in cold medications) so anyone buying suspicious quantities of these ingredients – and others known to be involved in formulating the drug – can be tracked. The program itself is tracked in terms of progress. “SAMSHA’s evaluation requirements are attached to the grant. The University of Miami was selected as a team member to analyze participant data. This report will be available at the conclusion of the grant.” Beaver adds that discharge summaries are performed for every program participant, and when each person “graduates” from treatment, he or she is interviewed again in six months to determine whether treatment was successful, reached its goals with the client, and what could have been done, if goals were not met.” This helps to track recidivism rates and the impact treatment has had on the community. As previously mentioned, the New Hope program in Blairsville has treated and evaluated almost 1,000 clients as of this writing. LANIER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Chairman jody hamm commissioner district 1 paul brockington commissioner district 2 harold simpson commissioner district 3 carolene johnson commissioner district 4 ronnie bennett county administrator albert studstill county clerk donna studstill assistant county clerk trish benefield fi county attorney suzanne patten mathis 100 Main Street Lakeland, GA 31635 E-mail: 229-482-2088 (fax) 229-482-8187 boardofcomm@alltel.net 44 GEORGIA COUNTY 344151_LanierCounty.indd 1 GOVERNMENT What Prompts People to Get Treatment Unfortunately, with methamphetamine, Watkins and Beaver assert, the motivation to seek treatment usually emanates from the legal system. Secondarily, it can come from an individual’s family – often, in such a case, coercion from the legal system is also involved, as an individual or couple who are addicted may be threatened with the loss of their children. Probation, parole and court order stipulations also drive people to seek treatment. “They rarely just come forward for treatment,” Beaver says. “The drug is too important to them. It can become the most important thing in their lives, and giving it up is not usually a voluntary measure.” Beaver adds that for treatment to have a chance at being effective, “you must remove the person from the drug.” Law enforcement, probation, parole and DFACS requirements help facilitate that objective, as does jail. Jail, or the threat of jail, will often prove the best deterrent, Beaver asserts. “If they don’t attend treatment, as required by the legal system when an offender is caught with meth, one of the sanctions for not attending treatment is jail.” Testing to keep participants “clean” is ongoing when individuals are accepted into the New Hope treatment program. Individuals are carefully monitored for the presence of drugs in their system, and if they are found positive, treatment is increased appropriately. New Hope is an outpatient counseling facility. “Each person’s needs are handled individually,” Beaver points out. Beaver adds that “addiction will always be with us. And often it seems, once we get a handle on one drug, another comes along which is as big a problem.” “However, the program at New Hope has helped people in our communities see that drugs may seem like an ‘easy fi x’ 8/23/07 10:42:08 PM
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