SOS Court up & running | News, Sports, Jobs

EAST LIVERPOOL — Judge Melissa Byers-Emmerling announces that the East Liverpool Municipal Court’s Addiction Recovery Court, the Self-control + Oversight=Sobriety Court (SOS Court) pre-certified by the Ohio Supreme Court has been up and running since February 25, 2019.

Judge Byers-Emmerling said, “I am very proud that within nine and a half weeks of our initial filing we have been given operational clearance. This confirms the hard work put in by myself and Chief Probation Officer and SOS Court Coordinator Sara Norris, SOS Court and Supervised Probation Officer Norman Keyser and Intensive Supervised Probation Officer Shawn Dunn.”

The SOS Addiction Recovery Court meets the stringent Ohio Supreme Court’s rules as well as the standards of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP). Those standards are modeled on cutting edge scientific treatment that compels drug-using offenders to change their lives.

To be eligible for the program, participants must be addicted to drugs or alcohol, not defendants who sell illegal drugs.

The purpose of the SOS Court is to improve the community by successfully getting offenders clean and sober, stopping drug-related crimes, reuniting broken families, reducing impaired driving and cutting the economic cost to our community’s hospitals, first responders and police.

Judge Byers-Emmerling noted that “The SOS Court has been a tremendous undertaking. The Court submitted a 110-page application to the Ohio Supreme Court, which took months by myself and SOS Court Coordinator Sara Norris to research and complete. “I traveled with the SOS probation team to other drug courts in Ohio to be prepared to hit the ground running once given the green light by the Ohio Supreme Court.”

As the opioid epidemic attacked the community, Judge Byers-Emmerling grappled with finding a long-term solution.

“In our fight against heroin addiction too many relapsed before court-ordered treatment could help.” Byers-Emmerling said. As a result, two years ago, Byers-Emmerling initialed a Vivitrol shot program within the Columbiana County Jail. This shot prevents inmates from getting high from alcohol and opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl, for 30 days upon release from serving their jail sentence and beginning required addiction programs.

Prior to the Vivitrol program, Byers-Emmerling established the Intensive Supervised Probation (ISP) program in 1996. The ISP program monitors, rehabilitates and guides serious criminal offenders toward becoming law-abiding citizens after serving a jail sentence. The combined success of the ISP and Vivitrol shot programs was the forerunner of the East Liverpool Municipal Court SOS Addiction Recovery Court to address the special needs of those battling addiction to drugs and alcohol. No local tax dollars fund the Vivitrol shot or the ISP program, both are fully funded by grants.

The SOS Court recently received a grant from the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. “This grant allows us to fill a funding gap between probationers’ fees and the cost to conduct the program without any local taxpayer burden,” Byers-Emmerling said, ” Our SOS Court is run on a shoe string budget. We don’t have the funding for a drug court coordinator or probation officer paid solely to provide those services. The Court’s Probation Department has taken on the additional duties in order to make this program a reality. By rolling up our sleeves, we are getting the job done.”

The Advisory Board of the SOS Court is made up of 22 members of the community and each of them serve a vital role in the long-term success of the program. Each member has donated their time and shared their expertise to ensure that our SOS Addiction Recovery Court effectively utilizes all of our local resources to fight addiction and support sobriety. Byers-Emmerling stated, “I am overwhelmed by the community’s support of our SOS Addiction Recovery Court”.

This Program is a tough year-long structured recovery approach monitored by myself, as Judge, to find long-term solutions for recovery from addiction.” Byers-Emmerling said. She continued “Our goal is to be the guiding light to a sober life for those who have relapsed. Through teaching self-control, oversight and inspiration, this program offers the tools to sobriety that are critical to long-term success. Our innovative approach includes filling the void left behind by abstaining from drugs to include sober hobbies and activities such as the Ohio State Extension Office offering cooking classes; Way Station conducting job interviewing, application and resume writing skills classes; book clubs; exercise classes and other sober activities. All partnered with the help and support of our community, law enforcement, and faith-based organizations.”

The SOS Addiction Recovery Court is a post-conviction program wherein the maximum by law permitted jail time is imposed, but not served, if successful completion of the program is obtained. The SOS Recovery program is an intensive program reserved for non-violent offenders who require more intervention and monitoring than provided through traditional probation supervision.

“We needed a new approach to meet the challenge of the drug addiction crisis.” said Byers-Emmerling.

Each participant is assessed for individual addiction recovery treatment including Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) via the Vivitrol shot. All SOS participants must complete a physical to ensure they are not self-medicating for an undiagnosed medical condition. If also diagnosed with a mental illness, additional treatment and orders to take prescribed medication are included.

Each participant’s progress during the year-long program is monitored in five phases. The initial two phases-20 weeks in duration-require weekly Court hearings before Judge Byers-Emmerling attended by the drug/alcohol counselors who report on the participants’ progress in treatment and individualized needs. Participants meet weekly with their probation officer; drug/alcohol counseling, peer support groups and, if applicable, mental health counseling as well as twice weekly random drug/alcohol tests. Judge Byers-Emmerling pointed out, “During these initial phases, the participants have six to seven weekly appointments to comply with the above described intensive treatment plan.

The SOS Court also employs two types of monitoring devices — the first device, SCRAM, monitors alcohol use and the second device, GPS, monitors the participants’ compliance with house arrest by tracking their whereabouts. Once the SOS participants have achieved sobriety, the goals of phase three and four which are 22 weeks in combined duration include; obtaining stable housing, employment, sober friends and sober activities are required to ensure long-term sobriety. The final phase five is 10 weeks in duration — the SOS participants remain sober and become productive citizens by monitoring them through monthly interviews and random drug tests. If all steps are completed, the SOS Court’s participants graduate from this intensive one-year program and for the next two years after graduation, a probation officer will monitor compliance to ensure the graduates remain sober and law-abiding citizens. If the participant fails to comply with the program’s rules and regulations, the maximum jail sentence allowed by law may be imposed by Judge Melissa Byers-Emmerling.

Judge Byers-Emmerling concluded, “Through team work with my probation department, local government, law enforcement and the community, the East Liverpool Municipal Court’s SOS Addiction Recovery Court is bringing hope and changing the lives of the severely addicted.”