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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Ind. Courts - "Tippecanoe County Judge, Purdue professor take on problem-solving courts in book"

Sohia Voravong's story in the Lafayette Journal Courier Nov. 2nd began:

Becoming a registered voter, signing up for a library card, enrolling in substance abuse or mental health treatment-- those are just some of the requirements for participants in Tippecanoe County's re-entry court for recently released prisoners.

For some, the checklist of stipulations and strict monitoring were seen as overbearing, said former Tippecanoe Superior Court 1 Judge Don Johnson, who helped launch and presided over the intensive program.

But the rules proved successful in reducing the number of repeat offenders.

"Each week, they were held accountable. If they missed a meeting ... there were immediate repercussions if they did not show," Johnson said. "A lot of participants have commented that it's almost like a virtual prison. They're accountable for every moment of the day."

The re-entry program is one of three Tippecanoe County problem-solving courts addressed in "Problem Solving Courts: New Approaches to Criminal Justice." It was written by Johnson and JoAnn Miller, a sociology professor at Purdue University and associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts.

Johnson and Miller will be in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss the book and Tippecanoe County's successes and failures in helping prisoners better transition into the community.

They'll also be part of a panel discussion and book signing in mid-November in Indianapolis.

"In three years, we had only a handful of failures and -- at the time of this book -- 66 success stories," Miller said. "The focus is on the contributions that re-entry can make on a community, from the economy to the quality of life.

Check out the book here, via Amazon.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 3, 2009 08:13 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts