By ALLISON WOOD

The Post staff writer

After seeing a rash of single mothers coming through his court on drug-related charges recently, Medina County Common Pleas Judge Jim Kimbler asked the probation department to help create a special intervention program targeting these women.

While all drug addicts face similar problems, he said he has noticed mothers tend to be more responsive to following terms of probation, which often includes drug treatment, since they want to keep their families intact, an incentive to get better.

To participate in the Family Intervention Program, the offender would have to be charged with a fourth- or fifth-degree felony that can be a possession, drug trafficking or related charge such as forging prescription documents. They would plead guilty to the offense and would have to complete a year-long program, which includes regular drug testing and meetings with the judge, probation officer and a caseworker at the courthouse. Successful completion of the three-phase program would result in the dismissal of the charge and a clean criminal record.

The first phase is for 90 days and involves weekly meetings, which will also include parenting classes. The second phase, which is for 180 days, involves random house visits and drug testing along with twice monthly meeting. The last 90 days would involve a monthly meeting and continuing to meet with a caseworker.

"The concept behind intervention is that offenders more often comply with a court order if they know a judge is directly involved," Kimbler said.

In addition to their addiction, Kimbler said he knows these women face other challenges, such as financial pressures and sometimes lack a good support system. These factors often lead them to self-medicating, which then turns into an addiction, which often causes these women to get involved in activities such as trafficking or prostitution to stay afloat.

The upcoming change in criminal sentencing laws starting in September also encourages local courts to create more intervention programs as a way to reduce the number of offenders being sent to state prison, especially those on drug charges, Kimbler said. This particular program has been done in other states at the county level in Oklahoma and Oregon.

The probation department, headed by Veronica Perry, is responsible for running this program and the other intervention programs offered at the common pleas court.

She said these programs are more time-intensive for probation officers since they will do more house visits and drug tests than with a normal offender and they do not normally work with a caseworker. However, the goal is to reduce the number of future violators in the long-term.

In addition, the Drug Court Program, run by Common Pleas Judge Chris Collier, has gone on for several years and requires participants to go to weekly sessions with the judge and undergo frequent drug testing. Kimbler's court also operates a mental health docket targeting offenders with psychological issues.

Perry said the new sentencing rules will affect the probation department greatly since offenders who will now not be sent to prison will get probation instead.