By District Attorney Ryan Sayers
2023 Vol. 38
This week I am going to address the last question that I received at the drug overdose and addiction awareness event in Clearfield on Labor Day Weekend. This question was, “why doesn’t Clearfield County have a drug court?”
A couple ladies in the crowd pointed out that almost 2/3 of the counties in Pennsylvania have a drug court and/or some kind of diversion court in regards to substance abuse, but Clearfield does not.
Clearly these ladies did their homework before asking their question because they were correct in that statement.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC)(a.k.a. the administrative arm of the PA Supreme Court) has a Web site showing all of the “problem-solving courts” in the Commonwealth.
You can find out more information about drug courts and other problem-solving courts around the Commonwealth at: https://www.pacourts.us/judicial-administration/court-programs/problem-solving-courts.
When I ran for District Attorney in 2019, I stated that it was going to be a priority of mine to try to establish a drug court in Clearfield County.
Such a court program is meant to help low-level users break the cycle of addition that puts them in the criminal justice system, and has statistically had success around the United States over the last couple of decades.
Upon taking office and after the COVID congregating restrictions were lifted in 2020, a meeting was held in Courtroom 1 with all of the major stakeholders to discuss how we could implement a drug court program in Clearfield County, which included myself, Clearfield Jefferson Drug and Alcohol Commission, Cen-Clear, the judges and other interested parties.
At that meeting Judge Paul Cherry stated that he would be willing to preside over the drug court and would make time each month to have the necessary proceedings for those in the program.
Following that meeting, I reviewed other drug court programs and policies from across Pennsylvania and used those to draft a program and policy for Clearfield County, which was presented to the judges and the commissioners.
The major issue that arose (just like any new program) was the question of “how do we pay for this?” because a new county position would need to be created to be the drug court coordinator.
At the end of 2021, the commissioners helped me apply for a grant to fund such a position. However, there was concern that the position would only be funded by the grant for two years, instead of something more long-term.
Then in 2022, the commissioners and I received news that we would be receiving funds from the opioid litigation settlement, which would be spread out over 18 years, and those funds could be used to fund such a drug court program.
At this point, the drug court proposal and guarantee a drug court would be funded with the opioid settlement money is with President Judge Ammerman because such a court program has to be approved by the president judge of the county.
So hopefully soon, Clearfield County can join the majority of counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that have a drug court program.
Next week, I will switch to a new topic in regards to the criminal justice system and the role of the district attorney.
As always, if you have any questions that you would like answered in this weekly article before the end of the year, please feel free to e-mail districtattorney@clearfieldco.org.
Ryan Sayers is the elected District Attorney of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
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