More than 50 family members, police officers and counselors turned out Tuesday to watch as two teenagers graduated from Charles County Juvenile Drug Court and had their records wiped clean.
The intervention program, versions of which exist nationwide, offers nonviolent offenders ages 14 to 17 who are chronic drug users the opportunity to erase their charges by participating in therapy and counseling.
The goal is to keep them from one day committing crimes as adults, said Doug Cooley, master of juvenile cases for Charles County Circuit Court.
“At its core, drug courts are general behavior modification programs,” Cooley said. “We’ve got the behavior that is getting the kid in trouble and we want to modify it.”
By the time juveniles are a eligible for the program, their only other option is intensive inpatient therapy, Cooley added.
In Maryland, juvenile drug courts have produced a 23 percent reduction in arrests and 69 percent drop in positive drug tests, according to state data. About 53 percent of participants in state juvenile drug courts graduate from the program, the data show.
The county program holds sessions every two weeks and has graduated 36 young men and women in 13 separate ceremonies since it started in 2006.
“I’m never going to forget any one of you,” Cooley told both of Tuesday’s graduates, a 17-year-old girl and 18-year-old boy.
When Cooley signed the requisite paperwork wiping away the drug charges, the room inside the Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf erupted with applause.
Given that both teens had their records expunged, the Maryland Independent is withholding their names in order to preserve their privacy.
Del. Peter F. Murphy (D-Charles) presented the graduates with certificates from the county delegation to the General Assembly and congratulated them for taking charge of their future.
Charles County Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D) also commended the duo for their “major accomplishment” and presented certificates from the commissioners.
“I want you to look out into this audience and know that you have a superb support system,” Commissioner Debra Davis (D) said. “Don’t ever say you didn’t have support. Your families are here. I’m sure you couldn’t have done it without them, but the rest of us want to help, too.”
A Prince George’s County prosecutor, Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) said the ceremony served as a refreshing break given that he had just finished sending a young man to prison for eight years “for his choices.”
“It’s very positive for me to end my day congratulating these graduates,” he said. “It does my heart some good.”
One of the most important aspects of the program is that its participants develop personal relationships with counselors and caseworkers who can help them in the future should they suffer a relapse or other problems associated with their recovery, Cooley said.
“When I’m doing juvenile drug court, it’s the closest I get to having a positive influence on somebody’s life,” he said.
Vanessa Tyler and Carol Green, agents with the Department of Juvenile Services and the program’s two probation officers, gave hugs to both of the graduates and encouraged them to come back and visit all of the staff in the future.
Stanley Goodall of Suitland, a counselor who worked with both graduates, recalled what it was like when he first met them.
He remembered the girl seeming “quite sad, quite withdrawn” when she first started the program.
“One thing that really struck a nerve with me was when she began to smile,” Goodall said. “It made me tear up.”
As for the boy, “we thought that he would be a casualty,” Goodall said. “We did not think he would make it to this day.”
But now that he has a clean records, the teen intends to join the U.S. Marine Corps and promised Goodall that he would send a picture of him in his uniform.
“If there is anything I can do for either of you, all you have to do is pick up the phone or drive by the sheriff’s office,” Charles County Sheriff Rex Coffey (D) said.
Following the ceremony, sheets of paper resembling the blank signature pages of a high school yearbook quickly filled up with good wishes for the two graduates from counselors, parents and even teens still enrolled in the drug court program.
“It’s a good day,” Cooley said.
jnewman@somdnews.com
