Reconnecting Families awarded the 2nd Quarter Jeans Fund!

Reconnecting Families received funds from Heidelberg USA!

Heidelberg USA, a company that specializes in providing solutions and services for the world-wide print media industry, awarded Reconnecting Families with their 2012 2nd Quarter Jeans Fund! The donation of $1036.00 is greatly appreciated and will most definitely help us serve our participants more effectively! We are all very excited, and want to give thanks to Heidelberg USA for their generous donation. Also, a special thanks to Dawn Dunham for recommending us to the Heidelberg organization.



For more information on Heidelberg USA please click here.

Creative Birthdays!

“It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” - Mother Teresa

Have you ever needed a creative gift idea? Well, we have one for you.

Reconnnecting Families received these two inspiring donations in honor of two children's birthdays. These wonderful gifts will be enjoyed and appreciated by the families of our program.

Happy Birthday, Billie and Rinne!

Community challenge: Choose a birthday and donate in someone's honor!

Take a look at this inspiring article about the impact drug courts have had on this man's life.
Courtesy of Bill Rankin with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
See article here.

Drug court 'saved my life,' man says

DAWSONVILLE— At the end of the emotional ceremony, Judge Jason Deal asked Gordon "G.P." Pirkle Jr. to smile to the packed assembly hall.

Pirkle, his cheeks streaked with tears, cracked a broad grin. In his hand was a plaque commemorating his special day: graduation from Dawson County's Treatment Court. In his mouth were his new teeth, courtesy of a nonprofit that helps participants pay for dental work to replace methamphetamine-mouth decay.

Pirkle, dressed in his Sunday best, looked nothing like the man who once had served federal time for drugs and who had been arrested again in November 2009 for methamphetamine possession. Back then, Pirkle had only 13 teeth left, and the decay was so bad he resorted to applying Super Glue to his bottom front teeth to keep them from falling out.

"Now G.P.'s got a great smile and he can show it," said Deal, the governor's son, who oversees Dawson and Hall counties' drug court programs. "And he's shown it's never too late."

In March, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution profiled three drug court graduates as well as Pirkle, who was more than halfway through Dawson's program.

The series highlighted Gov. Nathan Deal's push to provide more funding for so-called "accountability courts," intensive programs that require defendants to work, stay sober and get treatment. The courts are one facet of Georgia's criminal justice reform initiative that seeks to divert nonviolent offenders to treatment so expensive prison beds can be reserved for the most dangerous criminals.

Two years ago, Pirkle faced a nine-month stint in a residential substance abuse treatment center for state prisoners. Instead, he volunteered for the arduous two-year commitment in Dawson's treatment court.

Pirkle said he felt he needed the more lengthy drug court program for its structure and accountability. Judge Deal said he had his doubts, but Pirkle was insistent and was accepted into the program.

"It saved my life," Pirkle said Thursday.

A number of friends and relatives followed Pirkle to the podium to express their love, support and congratulations. Pirkle's father, Gordon Pirkle Sr., who runs the legendary Pool Room restaurant a block from the courthouse, instead stood and, choking back tears, told his son, "I love you."

In all, eight people graduated Thursday from the Dawson program — four from the DUI court and four, including Pirkle, from drug court.

The court's coordinator, Bob King, opened the ceremony by saying the event was not a true graduation. "It's really the start of a new way of life," he said.

Gordon Pirkle Jr. (right) with his father Gordon Pirkle Sr.

Is Drug Court Cost Effective??

Is Drug Court cost effective?
Some groups claim that drug courts are less effective than community treatment, don't improve public safety, and are not as cost-effective as people think. 
But, here is the breakdown of cost, courtesy of The Stranger. 

August 16, 2011 by Eli Sanders 
The problem with these critiques: They're totally wrong, in their conclusions and sometimes in their facts, according to drug court advocates here in King County and around the country.
For example, it's easy to calculate the savings to taxpayers from King County's Drug Diversion Court: $11.2 million between 2005 and 2010.

A couple of recent days spent watching proceedings on the ninth floor of the King County Courthouse illustrated other reasons why those involved in our local drug court—judges, administrators, and even the arrested addicts themselves, who essentially trade jail time for treatment—think it's well worth keeping.

One woman who'd recently passed her "sober birthday" approached the bench and expressed gratitude for being kept in check by the drug court's requirements. "I like you guys to be proud when I'm here," she told King County Drug Diversion Court judge Harry J. McCarthy. "Actually doing what you guys tell me to do has made a difference."

Another woman appeared holding her baby, and Judge McCarthy praised her commitment. "You have been consistently drug free for a long time," he said. A picture of her baby was taken for the "Our Kids" wall in the back of the courtroom, filled with smiling babies of recovering addicts. (Most of them are white babies, in case you were wondering.)

Of course, it's not just anecdotes like these that make drug court advocates upset at attacks on the program. It's also the numbers.

A July report by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that statewide, drug courts saved Washington taxpayers $7,651 per participant over that participant's lifetime.

Special Acknowledgements at Graduation...

On August 16th, Family Dependency Treatment Court under Presiding Judge Juanita Stedman, held graduation.  The ceremony was hosted by the First Baptist Church of Marietta and an emotional and happy ceremony was enjoyed by all who attended.

Two special partnerships and organizations were acknowledged the evening of the graduation.  These 2 groups are crucial to the success of Reconnecting Families, Inc and they have contributed to our enormous successes!

The first is:

Dr. Kimmerling is a local dentist of the Verde Pointe Dental Associates in West Cobb. A native of Marietta, born and raised, he truly makes a large impact on the community.

Dr. Kirk Kimmerling

Dr. Kimmerling kindly volunteers to help out mothers of Drug Court restore their smiles. An unfortunate side effect of lifelong drug abuse is extensive dental needs. These women oftenhave no shortage of needs. Helping these women feel more confident, there is no doubt thaDr. Kimmerling's help is a vital part of Reconnecting Families and the Drug Court.

The second is:

Reconnecting Families receives a helping hand from multiple organizations around the metro area. The relationship that RF has with the Atlanta Mission continues to prosper thanks to the services and assistance that both groups provide for one another.

The Atlanta Mission was established in 1938 and provides programs that are centered around Christ. The organization was originally established as a soup kitchen in the 30’s in order to feed homeless men. Today, the mission has expanded and now provides emergency shelter, residential discipleship, job attainment, and transitional housing to more than 950 homeless men, women and children daily.

Reconnecting Families works with the Atlanta Mission in order to provide those in need with the necessities of life. The Mission has donated items such as furniture and cribs to those who are in the RF program. In return, we have provided the mission with clothes, dry food, and personal hygiene products. Together, these non-profit organizations are allowing those in the different programs to get their lives back on track! Below is Board member Debbie POnder accepting the thank you plaque on behalf of Atlanta Mission:

THANKS AGAIN TO VERDE POINTE DENTAL ASSOCIATES AND ATLANTA MISSION!!

Graduation!

Graduation took place on August 16th at 5:00pm and it was a great night for all of the families involved. Each graduate gave their emotional thanks and testimony, and all who were present were truly inspired.  The journey that each of the 9 families who received their certificates is one we may never know, but admire their strength beyond words.

Guest speaker, Chief Justice Hunstein, spoke of the need for Drug Courts and for each woman to be thankful for the children who made them mothers.


We would also like to thank First Baptist Church for letting us use their venue! 

More pics to follow...

How do we know Drug Court Works?

How do we know Drug Court Works??
Below we unravel the mystery courteous of the Los Angles Daily Times.

We know that Drug Courts work because of conclusive research – far more than any other criminal justice program in existence today. There are few true experimental design studies utilizing random assignment that have been conducted on Drug Courts or any other criminal justice programs. 

A 2005 meta-analysis conducted by the United States Government Accountability Office of 27 evaluations that used experimental or quasi-experimental design indicates that Drug Court programs result in recidivism reductions. More recent meta-analyses have resulted in similar findings. Five different Drug Court meta-analyses of experimental and quasi-experimental studies conclude that Drug Courts significantly reduce re-arrest or reconviction rates by an average of 8-26% with the most successful Drug Courts reducing crime by 35-40%.

Preliminary results from the national study of Drug Courts, the Multisite Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE) sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and conducted by the Research Triangle, the Urban Institute and the Center for Court Innovation also found that Drug Court participants had significantly less involvement in criminal activity.

There is also strong evidence that, in addition to reducing crime, Drug Courts are a cost-effective intervention. A cost-analysis of 9 California Drug Courts that utilized a matched comparison group and propensity scoring found that for every dollar invested in Drug Court programs between $1.40 and $16.10 is saved as a result of reduced recidivism.

Professor Aviram also identifies recent negative reviews from the Justice Policy Institute (JPI), the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) to support her view that Drug Court outcomes are unsupported by sound scientific research, lack appropriate defense counsel, and are expensive and ineffective.

Unfortunately, each organization she identified -- as well as the reports they released -- are misinformed or contain factual inaccuracies. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals has responded in detail to the JPI, DPA and NACDL reports. For a more informed perspective, we urge your readers, including Professor Aviram, to consult a response authored by the Chief of Science, Law and Policy for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals’ (NADCP) that addresses these flawed reports.  The response may be found at http://www.nadcp.org/setting-the-record-straight.

Sincerely,

Chief Justice William Ray Price, Jr., Missouri Supreme Court and Chairman of the NADCP Board of Directors

Judge Harold Kahn, Superior Court of California, San Francisco

Judge Stephen Manley, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara

Lisa Lightman, Director, Collaborative Court Programs, San Francisco Superior Court

A Special Thank You!

Reconnecting Families would like to thank First Baptist Church for their generosity. First Baptist will be hosting our graduation on August 16th and we are thrilled! As always, the community plays a crucial role in our success. 

We would also like to thank Gary Bonds Class and The Practice Class for donating snacks and refreshments for the graduation. We are very thankful to these Sunday school groups!

Individuals contributing are:
Liz Cole
Mimi McEachern
Laura Smith 
Karla Strippelhoff
Jenni O'Dell

Thanks so much! 

First Baptist Church 

Newly Launched Scholarship Committee

Reconnecting Families has just launched our scholarship committee for the new Joan R. Murphree Memorial scholarship program. The Reconnecting Families board approved a committee of five individuals for the purpose of reviewing and selecting scholarship awards. The members are:

1. Earl Reece         (Non-member)
2. Chuck Clay         (Non-member)
3. Nancy Bodiford  (Non-member)
4. Shelby Robert    (Board Member)
5. Chris Bethel        (Board Member)

 

We are so excited to award our first scholarships!