Support teens, Vote yes on Prop. 5 | Napa Valley Register

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Support teens, Vote yes on Prop. 5

Monday, October 27, 2008

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Dear editor,

As an individual who has worked with alcohol and drug-involved teenagers for many years, I am urging the passage of Proposition 5, the NORA initiative. Non Violent Offenders Rehabilitation Act is much like the previously passed Proposition 36 initiative that brought money to all counties for substance abuse treatment rather than incarceration.

Many Napans have seen the amazing success of our drug courts and realize that for every dollar spent on treatment, we save $7 in the criminal justice system.

What most individuals don’t know is that there is almost nonexistent funding for juvenile alcohol and drug treatment in all 58 counties of California. Napa County is lucky to have the Wolfe Center and local funders, such as Auction Napa Valley, the Gasser Foundation, and the County of Napa. However, we continue to seek funds for our teens’ treatment. The Wolfe Center is providing prevention and early-level treatment services in the middle and high schools of Napa County. Napa, like every other county, has high incidences of alcohol and drug abuse but we know through research that providing treatment at an early level to these teens will prevent them from increasing the severity of their addiction.

Approximately 80 percent of teens involved in the criminal justice system are substance abuse-involved and usually under the influence while committing their offenses. Of course, the cost of treatment versus incarceration is mind-boggling. According to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Reclaiming Futures” juvenile treatment costs $3,000 per year in comparison to incarceration costing $40,000 per year!

The Wolfe Center believes in intervening before criminal activity occurs. However, our funding is limited and criminal justice clients can be served well by this proposition, leaving other funding sources for our much-needed school services.

Please support our Napa County Teens by supporting Proposition 5 and vote yes.

Sheila M. Daugherty

Napa

7 comment(s)

funnyme wrote on Oct 27, 2008 4:47 AM:

" It sounds more like:
"Relieving parents from their responsibility of raising their own children...Government will take care of it with the rest of taxpayer's money!"

No on 5! "

kevin wrote on Oct 27, 2008 9:46 AM:

" I considered voting yes on this one until I found out who was supporting it: the old billionare, drug promoting socialist himself, George Soros....

No on 5! "

yamamama wrote on Oct 27, 2008 11:13 AM:

" An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Why not reach out to these kids and help them before they get in to serious trouble, possibly hurting innocent people, and then being imprisoned at taxpayer's expense?

Vote YES on 5. "

manxkat wrote on Oct 27, 2008 11:51 AM:

" Another $ Billion wasted. When will it stop? I already voted "NO". "

amigo wrote on Oct 27, 2008 12:27 PM:

" Can they use dope in these rehabs?
If they can these programs would be an waste. "

Raven wrote on Oct 27, 2008 3:57 PM:

" okay all who are ready to spend billions more for more jails and prisons say aye... "

davideugene wrote on Oct 27, 2008 7:28 PM:

" I fully understand the argument in voting "yes" on Prop 5, but I don't agree with it. As a reformed alcoholic/addict myself (starting in my teens), a slap on the wrist or "mandatory rehab" would have done me ZERO good. In order for rehab to work, one must fully admit there is a problem to begin with and one must really want the help. Otherwise it’s a waste of everyone’s time. After two DUI’s in my early twenties, a little jail time, and mandatory drinking driver classes, I still didn’t think I had a drinking problem. I thought I just had bad luck because I got caught.

It wasn’t until I had burned all of my bridges, people stopped enabling me, I lost my job and everything I had before I cried out for help. I eventually ended up at a treatment center as a last resort because I then wanted to change my ways. I WANTED and needed the help but I had to hit rock bottom first.

Has anybody here been forced to attend state DUI classes or drug diversion? They are a total joke. Nobody wants to be there (including the instructor). Everybody sits around and pouts for a couple of hours during the class and then everybody leaves and goes to 7/Eleven to get some beer.

Tougher sentences on alcohol/drug related offenses and some significant time in jail to think about what they did could be enough for people to change their ways. If they don’t get it and end up back in jail, then obviously they didn’t learn their lesson.

Prop 5 is nothing more than a “get out of jail free card”.

Dave
ReasonsToStaySober.com "

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