ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The city’s Treatment Court continues to make strides with people in the community, and as program leader Judge Jason Maxwell tells it, he is very proud.
“This program has grown as we’ve gone throughout the years, and I couldn’t be prouder of the work we’re doing,” Maxwell said. “We started with a pilot program in 2019 at that time, we weren’t really that structured, we got more structured as we really started to develop the program in 2020, and we’ve been revising and improving the program in that time. There have been a couple of recent changes, including us adding a second track – we began with a high-risk, high-need track, which was what was recommended at the national level. That refers to a person being at a high risk of reoffending and possibly committing new offenses, and the high-need refers to a person being at a high need for treatment. We’ve been very successful with that, but we discovered we’re missing a piece that would be for the clients who are earlier on in their issues and they’re more low-risk, so we added that track for the clients who are coming in who aren’t in quite as much trouble and we’re able to provide that assistance and early intervention for them before they get into more trouble. We also began an alumni association that is picking up steam and providing support for not only alumni but also clients who are in one of the later phases of our program. As the clients progress and graduate to those later phases, we want them to start adjusting to where they’re going to be once they get done with everything and how they can adjust and have that needed support after they’re done. As far as who we serve, that’s a little tough to say ... if you look at our numbers of defendants, we have thousands of cases every year that come through, and the majority of them I don’t see again – they start with their first appearance and then pay their ticket or fine, or have their case dismissed, and there are some of those clients I don’t even end up seeing. Those cases don’t require a lot of resources. As things track upwards, there are fewer people we work with defendants, but as that necks down and we get to fewer and fewer people, the resources go the other way.”
Maxwell said the program uses many resources from within the community.
“When we talk about resources, that might include judicial personnel, law enforcement personnel, and we’re certainly dealing with jails and prisons and those facilities,” Maxwell said. “As things neck up, that’s where the higher risk clients fit in, almost near the top. Most of our defendants know if you come through and get a motion to revoke probation ... we work with people and try to get them to be successful, but if they’re not able to do what they’re supposed to, their probation gets revoked. I normally ‘dip’ them, and that means they’ll serve a little jail time, I’ll put them back on probation, and then we’ll try to restructure things in a way where they can be successful. The idea behind the low-risk Treatment Court is for us to try and start intervening right then and there, and we’re going to start working with the clients in that low-risk track before they’ve made their way up and have felonies and potentially other serious charges pending against them. The idea is for us to intervene early so they don’t make it to that high-risk level. I do more probation hearings than anything besides first appearances, we do those over and over again to try and work with people. Among our resources, along with the judicial and law enforcement personnel I mentioned earlier, we also have medical and family resources listed. The people who are in the throes of addiction and using, especially those who are in the high-risk track, many of them are homeless and don’t have any of those resources at their disposal, and they’re also uninsured. Children who grow up in a home where one or both parents are using are eight times more likely to become addicts themselves, and one of the other reasons we have this program is because we want to intervene for people and keep them out of the system before their children can be too exposed to that kind of environment. The estimated savings nationwide – and it varies by program – for every $1 spent, that’s about $6.6 saved on treatment because you’re not having to spend all of those other resources along the way.”
Maxwell then talked about some of the program’s requirements.
“Track one is our high-risk track and is a minimum of 14 months, and track two is a minimum of 12 months. You really don’t want to go any shorter because of the needed time for treatment, which is typically about a year. But that also depends on the client and how quickly they progress and how they make it through the treatment and handle the other requirements,” Maxwell said. “All of the clients go through outpatient treatment, and there are some who require inpatient treatment, and we have grants and other partners and resources we use to help ensure everyone gets the treatment they need – not just with the substance abuse but also mental health care and trauma-specific care and whatever else they need. We test the clients four to five times per week, and we do random testing by multiple methods, and we also use 24/7 alcohol monitoring. Overall, we have multiple tools at our disposal to hold the clients accountable and help them on their path, and we also provide some help with housing and finding employment, and all of our partners are so wonderful to work with.”
The program has also seen evolution in terms of funding, Maxwell said.
“In terms of funding, back in 2019, we had zero funding, and then in 2020, we received some foundation assistance. In 2021, we received a Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant through the U.S. Department of Justice,” Maxwell said. “We had a whole team put together and a whole application package but unfortunately, where we fit in was a January through April, and those grants no longer exist. Our grant was scheduled to run out at the end of September, but we got an extension through the end of next March, so we’ve got a bit of wiggle room. As to how we fund the program, we use the alcohol tax and we’ve got opioid settlement funds. We also receive private donations, foundation donations, and donations community partners. We’re not really heavy with the tax dollars for this program.”
The commission then got to hear from client Joshua Melton, set to graduate from the program soon, and program alumnus Isaac Gonzalez, both of whom said the program changed their lives.
“I came from a broken home, my parents divorced when I was 9 years old, and at that time, I didn’t realize how much I would be affected by not having my dad in the picture. I used drugs from when I was about 13 all the way until I was 28, and then I ended up going to the Union Rescue Mission in Wichita and went through their program,” Melton said. “That worked for about seven and a half years and in that time, I got married, got work, had a son (who just turned 9 years old earlier this week). Also in that time, however, my wife had a stroke that sidelined her whole career – she was a registered nurse at Wesley Medical Center, and I was working as a production supervisor for HOC Industries. When that happened, our entire life got flipped upside down – she was unable to work and is still permanently disabled because of it, and I couldn’t work and take care of her at the same time. We moved to Liberal because this is where her family lives, and we agreed moving here would be the best thing for our family. I ended up at the point where I was working two jobs and working seven days a week, but I just couldn’t keep up. I ended up meeting some people I should have stayed away from and ended up getting addicted again to meth and after that, my whole life started falling apart. I ended up getting several charges with the Municipal Court and District Court, and my wife and I got into a domestic violence situation my son witnessed, and after that, I lost basically everything. I ended up moving in with my drug dealer, which I know was not the smartest decision, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go since the homeless shelter was full at that time.”
Melton then found the courage to ask for help.
“I remember going to the Municipal Court for a hearing and sitting there listening to the judge and I started thinking ‘Maybe I should tell him I have a drug problem’ because all of the charges I was facing had stemmed from my addiction. I didn’t know what else to do because when I first got here four years ago, I weighed 250 lbs, and then by March 2024, I weighed 150 lbs. I was in so much physical pain, I couldn’t even tie my shoes or button my pants without using meth to help get rid of the pain just so I could go to work and function,” Melton said. “My life was falling apart and I was helpless and hopeless and didn’t know what to do. I told the judge ‘I have a meth problem, is there anything you can do to help me?’ I didn’t know at that time this program existed, and then he offered it as an option and after he told me all the different options, I basically said ‘Where do I sign?’ because I was in such dire need. When I got to rehab, I had to be in detox for five days because I couldn’t walk or stand up and I would fall down just trying to make my way to the cafeteria. On my fourth night there, I remember sitting in my room and I started praying because I didn’t really know what else to do and I said ‘God, if you take this away, I swear I’ll never do any of this again, I really need your help.’ I woke up the next morning and my pain was gone and I was able to walk like nothing had happened. I got through rehab and the surveillance was pretty severe, which I ended up being thankful for because it helped keep me in check and focused. I wanted to show I was a person who wasn’t going to just slough things off and someone the staff wouldn’t have to worry about. Things have progressed positively in my life and without this program, I don’t think I’d be here today.”
“I am a 2024 graduate of the Treatment Court program. My journey began in the summer of 2022 – at that time, I had very little hope and was at an all-time low. Anxiety, stress and depression were the results of my drug and alcohol use. Problem after problem, the list just kept growing,” Gonzalez said. “One particular time when I was deep in my addiction, I remember saying a small prayer and asking God to make a way for me to get the treatment I needed. Not long after that, when I was in custody, during a court hearing, I made the decision to speak out and ask for help. Nervous as I was, I did something I wasn’t used to – I faced my problems head-on and accepted whatever consequences might come. Little did I know, this program existed and in that unexpected way, my prayer had been answered. I wasn’t prepared, but I was encouraged, and that encouragement from wonderful people who were put in my path to help me was astounding. This program saved my life, and today, I’m proud to say I’ve been clean for three years. I remain active and involved with this program, and I’m honored to give back to a program I know truly works. This is just the beginning of my journey, and I want to thank everyone for their support of this program.”
I can attest to how good Josh is doing! He is an amazing person and I am so glad that this program is in place to help people! I am so proud of Josh I can hardly put it into words.