Inside This Issue

Volume 4, Issue 1

March 2014A Publication by the

2014 Officersand Directors

Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

13th AnnualDay on the Hill 2

Nethery HonorsGraduates 2

Buffalo Valley, Inc.SSFV Program 3

The PresidentsCorner 3

DeKalb Drug CourtGraduation 4

MembershipApplication 4

PresidentMary Schneider

Vice PresidentTracye Bryant

TreasurerBrad Price

SecretaryRick Taylor

West Tennessee DirectorAngela Parkerson

Middle Tennessee DirectorMike Lewis

East Tennessee DirectorJudge Charles Cerny

At Large DirectorsRon HanaverKevin BattsJill Barrett

Over 350 drug court professionals and alumniconverged on Murfreesboro, Tennessee this pastDecember 11th through 13th for another greatannual conference. Even though it was theninth annual conference (the year NADCP washere we didnt have a state conference), drugcourts celebrated the 10th Anniversary of ourenablinglegislationpassed in2003. TheEmbassySuites andConferenceCenter con-tinues to bea greatvenue in terms of location, parking, facilities,food, and friendly staff. TADCP alsoannounced the 2014 dates for the next confer-ence, which will be held once again at theEmbassy Suites and Conference Center inMurfreesboro on December 3 5, so mark yourcalendars now!

The conference was kicked off with openingremarks by Board President Mary Schneiderand Commissioner Douglas Varney withTennessees Mental Health and SubstanceAbuse Services Department. Following theirremarks, 25 drug court alumni from across thestate "paraded" to the podium to share a fewremarks about their drug court experience, thedrug court they attended, and the amount oftime they have clean. It was a terrific way tobegin the conference, and we are so grateful for

the time andenergy alumniput into comingto the confer-ence and shar-ing their storieswith us.

The confer-ence could not

have worked without the help from all of ourwonderful volunteers who rolled up theirsleeves and pitched in with a warm smile and

lots of positive vibes! From managing the frontdesk and stuffing tote bags to making extracopies of handouts, it seemed there was no tasktoo big for them. Folks showed up to stuff 300tote bags, register people coming in on everyday of the conference, help exhibitors put theirexhibit materials up, make sure speakers gotwhere they needed to be, pass out materials inthe sessions and so, so much more than can bewritten here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Speaking of volunteers, TADCP is alreadybeginning to work on the agenda for 2014. Theconference committee will have its fist meetingin the next few weeks and theres time for youto share your thoughts or feedback with thecommittee. The committee includes: MarySchneider, Board President and Director of theRutherford County Drug Court Programs, LoriTubbs-Douglas, Director of Alternative ChoiceCounseling, Gibson County, Nancy Fallows,Director of the Cumberland and White CountyDrug Courts, Rachel Parker with the CoffeeCounty DrugCourtsProgram, andNorenePuckett,Coordinatorfor theDekalbCountyDrug/DUI and Juvenile Courts Programs.Executive Director Marie Crosson will staff thecommittee. Please feel free to share thoughtsabout the 2014 agenda with any of these folks.

There are many more pictures from the con-ference located at the Tennessee Association ofDrug Court Professionals Facebook page so gothere, "like" our page, and enjoy! A link to thepictures on Facebook is also included in ourfledgling TADCP BLOG located on our websiteat www.tadcptn.org.

9TH ANNUAL TADCP STATE CONFERENCETADCP CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY

The conference could not haveworked without the help from all of our

wonderful volunteers

Page 2 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

NETHERY HONORS DRUG TREATMENT COURT GRADUATESDrug Treatment Court recognized pro-

gram graduates Wednesday during aluncheon at the Jackson City Court.

Of the seven current graduates, threewere present to be congratulated by DrugTreatment Court Director DamienNethery and Judge Blake Anderson, aswell as one current par-ticipant who receivedher GED.

This is the first timeDrug Treatment Courthas held a recognitionluncheon in the citycourtroom.

This is a place wheremost of our people donot want to come,Nethery said. So to beable to have something here in this verycourtroom is very positive, to honor them,to appreciate what they are doing to showthat you can live differently. It was justkind of a really cool visual concept.

Nethery honored people currently in theprogram, recent graduates of the program

and past graduates who came to supportthose going through treatment.

Drug Treatment Court was establishedin 2003 and has worked closely withAnderson during the past 11 years.

Prior to drug court they were not bigfans of the judge and avoided him at all

cost, Nethery said. Thejudge is very open todoing different stuff, andnot just saying, Imgoing to throw you injail and throw away thekey and lets see whathappens. Hes verymuch a believer in - ifthats not working letstry something else.

Drug Treatment Courtis often a last chance opportunity for non-violent drug offenders to get out of jailand deal with addiction problems.

The goal is for you to stop doing whatyoure doing, so if there is a reasonbehind that then lets identify that reason.

Drug Treatment Court has 19 current

participants in various stages of the three-phase treatment program.

We provide treatment at our office, wedrug screen them randomly throughoutthe week, they do community service,they are required to have a job or be inGED, we assist them with parental rights,we assist them with housing. We considerourselves to be an holistic program, inthat were looking at everything. Netherysaid.

TADCP GETTING READY FOR DAY ON THE HILL 201413TH ANNUAL EVENT TO BE HELD MARCH 18 AT THE WAR MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM

Last February, TADCP hosted a Day onthe Hill to meet and educate legislatorsabout the great work recovery courts aredoing in Tennessee. Great member par-ticipation and yummy goody bags madethe day a huge success!

This year, we are excited to partnerwith the Tennessee Coalition for MentalHealth and Substance Abuse Services(TCMHSAS) by sponsoring an exhibit atthe 13th Annual Day on the Hill at theWar MemorialAuditorium.TCMHSAS is acoalition ofprovider organiza-tions that representthe interests ofmentally ill and substance dependent citi-zens, often demonstrating that representa-tion with a unified voice to educate theTennessee State Legislature and to showconcern when potential cuts to services or

funding is threatened. Hundreds of people attend this annual

event, which will be held on March 18,2014, along with dozens of mental healthand substance abuse services organiza-tions across the state. Familiar organiza-tions like Tennessee Association ofMental Health Organizations (TAMHO),Tennessee Association of Alcohol andDrug Abuse Services (TAADAS), andMental Health America of Middle

Tennessee are just afew examples of the29 coalition membersrepresenting the men-tally ill and substancedependent throughTCMHSAS.

TADCP will be among the dozens oforganizations on March 18th at the WarMemorial Auditorium to education legis-lators about mental health and substanceabuse services in Tennessee, and explain-

ing how recovery courts are an importantpart of this very big picture. We will bethere to represent YOU, our membership,in the vital task of providing education toour stakeholders.

TADCP will be among the dozens oforganizations........We will be there

to represent YOU, our membership, inthe vital task of providing education

to our stakeholders.

T A D C PEV

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Mark YourCalendars!

2014 NADCPConference

December 3-5, 2014Embassy Suites &Conference Center

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Damien Nethery, director of Drug Treatment Court,talks about the DTC program and honoring currentparticipants, and graduates of the program. / NICK

MCFERRON/The Jackson Sun

Page 3 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

TADCP MEMBERSENJOY....

BY MARY SCHNEIDER

CONTINUING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES(NAADAC AND CLE)

ANNUAL TADCP CONFERENCE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER REPRESENTATION THROUGH THE

TADCP LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE FREE AND DISCOUNTED TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

BRRRRRRRR ! Even though most of us havent seen anysnow, it sure has been cold! Tennesseans arent used to this kindof weather. Those of you who remember Rebekah Provost-Emmons from the City of Jackson Treatment Court and formerPresident of TADCP would laugh in sympathy at her posts inFacebook. She is now living in northern Illinois, and as most ofyou know, they are having a record breaking winter! She is notadjusting well! I think her biggest complaint has been not beingable to find stylish enough snow boots. Thats our Rebekah!

On behalf of the TADCP Board and Executive DirectorMarie Crosson, I would like to thank those of you who came tothe conference and made it such a wonderful success. We hadour biggest turn-out ever! The evaluations were very positive!And we have lots of ideas for next year, so start planning for thenext conference, because it will be even better!

One comment on the evaluations that I need to address issomeones concern that we paid for the open bar each evening atthe hotel. We did not. This is a perk that Embassy Suites offersits customers, just like the free breakfast every morning. Imsure that many of the conference attendees did take advantage ofthe free drinks during the Managers Reception, but TADCP hasalways taken the stance that we will not pay for any alcohol atthe conference. In fact, there was even a discussion about someof the menu items we looked at that had sauces made with alco-hol and it was decided not to choose those items either. We tryto be very conscientious of our peers who are in recovery.

Some neat events coming up include the Day on The Hill inMarch and the Coordinators Conference in June. There is anarticle in this newsletter about the Day on The Hill. We are try-ing something new this year by collaborating with a coalition ofmental health and substance abuse providers. We hope to domore of this type of thing as we grow and get our name outthere. It is amazing to us how little people still know aboutrecovery courts. So by collaborating with others, we also edu-cate them about us.

Another exciting event coming up is our first Board Retreat.We are spending the day together in Nashville with a facilitatorwho will help us develop a Strategic Plan for TADCP. This planwill help us determine what direction TADCP should go in forthe next 3 to 5 years. Adding Marie as our first employee hasmade us realize that as we grow, we need to change. And manyof those changes relate to the members, since it is you who makeup this organization. This is an exciting process and I hope youwill be pleased with what we come up with.

Finally, continue to check in on our website:www.tadcptn.org. Marie continues to add things and changethings and improve things! Her latest addition is a blog, whichis just a way of sharing some information with our membershipthat they might be interested in. Also, dont forget the Facebookpage. We would love your pictures and comments on that aswell! Thank you for all you do!

Regards,Mary Schneider, LAPSW

THEPRESIDENTS

CORNER

Service Area:

Montgomery, Robertson,Sumner, Trousdale,Cheatham, Dickson,Hickman, Williamson, Maury,Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall,Giles, Bedford, Moore,Coffee, Lincoln, Perry andWayne Counties.

Contact Information:

To determine if you are eligi-ble or to make a referral,please call 800-699-6573 or931-628-6056.Email:PatNorman@buffalovalley.org orGeraldHerring@buffalovalley.orgBVI SSVF staff is also available in Clarksville or Lewisburg.

1-800-699-6573

AdministrativeContact:

Deborah A Hillin,MA, LADACSenior VicePresidentDebbieHillin@buffalovalley.org

Funded through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The SSVF Program is designed to help to preventhomelessness by helping qualifying Veterans andtheir families gain access to the resources theyneed in order to successfully transition to ormaintain permanent housing.Qualifications:

A member of a Veteran family: Either(a) a Veteran (a person who served inthe active military, naval, or air service,and who was discharged or releasedtherefore under conditions other thandishonorable): or (b) a member of afamily in which the head of household,or the spouse of the head of household,is a Veteran. Must have a DD214 Very low income: Household incomedoes not exceed 50% of area medianincome as determined by HUD. Ages 18 and older (family members ofall ages) Occupying Permanent Housing: Avery low-income Veteran family is con-sidered to be occupying permanenthousing if they fall into one of the fol-lowing 3 categories:Category 1: Is residing in permanenthousing (proof of eviction and/or pend-ing eviction);Category 2: Is homeless and sched-uled to become a resident of perma-nent housing; or 90 days pending thelocation or development of housing suit-able for permanent housing; orCategory 3: Has exited permanenthousing within the previous 90 days toseek other housing that is responsive tothe very low-income Veteran familysneeds and preferences.

Required Documentation:

Verification of Veteran Status: DD214 Verification of Housing Status Verification of Household Verification of Income

Screening & Intake:

Complete an eligibility screening & assessment Enroll and assigned Case Manager

Expectations:

Develop Housing Stability Plan Develop Employment Plan Identify Barriers & Supportive Services necessary to meet essential needs.

Supportive Services Available:

Veterans and their families are linkedwith Case Managers who will help themquickly regain stability in permanenthousing after experiencing a housingcrisis and /or homelessness.

Case Managers will provide guidanceand coordination to Veterans and theirfamilies, helping them to make informeddecisions, to understand their optionsand to gain access to VA benefits andother mainstream resources.

The Veterans and their families are con-nected with other community resourcesincluding but not limited to:

Housing counseling services Vocational and rehabilitation counseling Employment & training services Transportation services Daily living services

Temporary Financial Assistance:

Time-limited payments may be avail-able to third parties (e.g., temporaryfinancial assistance payments/depositson behalf of Veteran families to land-lords, utility companies, limited childcare services, etc) provided these pay-ments help Veteran families remain inpermanent housing or obtain perma-nent housing

Page 4 Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals

TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF DRUG COURT PROFESSIONALS

A one-year membership to TADCP is $25 per person. An organizational membership from 1/01/2014 - 12/31/2014 is $200 for 2-10 membersand $10 for each additional member greater than 10. Please make checks payable to TADCP.

Is this application for an individual membership or organizational membership? Individual Organizational Please specify the membership organization_______________________________________________________

1. Primary contact personNameTitleOrganization

Drug CourtMailing AddressCity, State, ZIP

Phone NumberFax NumberE-Mail Address

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

A Publication by the

P.O. Box 639McMinnville, TN 37111

C O M P U T E RTRAINING

New Horizons Nashville haspricing set up with TADCP for

computer training.The following prices are for TADCPmembers:

Access - $88 per level per studentWord - $58 per level per studentExcel - $68 per level per studentOLA Access - $67 per user for

Online AnytimeFeel free to call or email for any

additional information:Ph: 615-850-5919Fax: 615-251-6925Email: skomar@NHNashville.com

On January 8, 2014 the DeKalb CountyAdult Drug Court held a graduation cere-

mony for 7 participants who got a newlease on life. These participants workedlong and hard to make it to this point andthe DeKalb County Drug Court is happyto have helped them through this part oftheir journey into recovery. This ceremo-ny marked the 2nd largest graduationin DeKalb County Drug Court history,which was a great way for their pro-gram to start off the New Year! TheDeKalb County Drug Court also had

former graduates in attendance who gaveinspiring remarks as well as a former pro-gram coordinator and several County andCity officials to mark the momentousoccasion.

DEKALB DRUG COURT HOLDS GRADUATIONSEVEN GRADUATE IN CEREMONY HELD IN DEKALB COUNTY

This ceremony marked the 2ndlargest graduation in DeKalbCounty Drug Court history...