Local treatment court celebrates graduation

Staff and wire report

Recently, the Montana Twelfth Judicial District Treatment Court — TJDTC — held a graduation ceremony for two participants on September 29th, 2022 at the Hill County Courthouse.

In addition to presiding Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz and the graduates, people in attendance included families and friends, representatives from the offices of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., and members of the treatment team and community.

The two graduates entered the TJDTC program based on drug/alcohol related criminal charges in September of 2021, have maintained sobriety for more than one year, have worked with local chemical dependency providers, have become gainfully employed, and have bettered themselves by participating in rehabilitative programming.

Rosendale said in a letter to the graduates that they have “shown the commitment and discipline needed to graduate from the Twelfth Judicial District Treatment Court and as a result can enjoy the benefits of their hard work such as consecutive days of sobriety, obtaining employment, seeking educational opportunities, obtaining a driver’s license, involvement in their community and much more. Programs like these are vital to healthy communities and are to be commended.”

In his letter to the graduations, Daines said, “As you move forward, I encourage you to continue to be a leader for those around you. I have no doubt the commitment you’ve shown to complete this program will serve as a true example for others who may also be battling substance abuse challenges of their own. The success you’ve see throughout this program is no small feat, and I am confident it will translate in all areas of your life. I hope you view today’s graduation ceremony as an indicator of your ability to achieve anything you set your mind to.”

Staff of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said scheduling conflicts made it difficult to to attend the ceremony in person, but the senator sent his congratulations.

“I want to congratulate these men and women for working hard to achieve one year of sobriety and graduating from this program,” Tester said in a statement to Havre Daily News. “Battling substance abuse is never easy, but through the skills and strategies that you’ve learned over the past year, I have no doubt that you’ll help to make your communities stronger. Montana’s treatment courts continue to make our state healthier, and these graduates are a testament to the effectiveness of the program.”

TJDTC, originally established at the county level by Hill County Justice of the Peace Audrey Barger more than 10 years ago, was created to give people charged with qualifying offenses an opportunity to address seriously their addiction to drugs and alcohol and recover from their addiction.

Since the District Court assumed jurisdiction of the program in October 2020, expanding to include Hill, Liberty and Chouteau counties, TJDTC has had 23 graduates and approximately 52 participants.

The Treatment Court is coordinated by Paul Nugent and has a treatment team consisting of Tribal Liaison Coordinator Kara Fox, treatment practitioners from Bear Paw Recovery Center, Liberty County Sheriff Erickson as law enforcement representative, Officer Josh Brown from Adult Probation and Parole, Katie Keeler from Compliance Monitoring, Hill County Attorney Lacey Lincoln and Defense Attorney Penelope Oteri from the Office of the State Public Defender.

TJDTC is currently funded by Bureau of Justice Assistance and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grants.

September is National Recovery Month and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals uses this month to promote and support new evidence-based recovery practices, the emergence of strong and proud recovery communities, and the dedication of community members and service providers across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.