{"id":30884,"date":"2018-10-25T17:21:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T22:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30884"},"modified":"2018-10-25T17:22:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T22:22:50","slug":"agency-expands-screening-program-to-steer-defendants-away-from-prison-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/10\/25\/agency-expands-screening-program-to-steer-defendants-away-from-prison-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Agency expands screening program to steer defendants away from prison time"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30885\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-30885\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/10\/Lisa-Sparks-1920x1522.jpg\" alt=\"Lisa Sparks in her Claremore office at Human Skills and Resources.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1522\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lisa Sparks conducts offender screenings for Human Skills and Resources in Claremore.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/519935064&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>It\u2019s impossible to predict who will commit a crime in the future, but clinicians at a program funded by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services think it\u2019s possible to make an educated guess at who\u2019s a higher risk.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The agency is expanding a program officials say helps courts match people with appropriate punishments for their circumstances. Increasing the number of these defendant screenings will connect more Oklahomans with care and assistance, which agency spokesperson Jeff Dismukes said will mean fewer people are sentenced to overcrowded prisons<\/p><p>The agency currently pays 22 outside treatment providers to size up people accused of felonies and recommend ways to keep them on the right side of the law. Human Skills and Resources, a nonprofit in Tulsa, Creek and Rogers counties is one of them.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>About the screenings<\/h3><p>Lisa Sparks, a clinician with the nonprofit, screens people for Rogers County District Court.<\/p><p>\u201cNormally we get a referral from someone,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the court, or their attorney (or) the district attorney\u2019s office \u2014 that triggers us to know that the person needs one done.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>The screenings typically come after a defendant is arrested and charged but before a judge has ruled. Sparks said the process focuses on three things: Mental health needs, addiction and other life circumstances that put people at risk higher risk of committing crimes.<\/p>\n<h3>Legislature orders expansion<\/h3><p>The Legislature tasked <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oscn.net\/applications\/oscn\/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=466531\">the agency<\/a> with screening people facing felonies in 2012. So far, the program has screened more than 26,000 people in 37 counties.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Lawmakers gave the agency an additional $4 million this year to expand the program to every county. Screeners like Sparks will soon give all district courts recommendations on local defendants facing charges.<\/p><p>Sparks hopes her reports and recommendations help judges and attorneys consider how they can help defendants repair their lives.<\/p><p>Most defendants who are screened are released into court-ordered supervision and possibly treatment, according to agency officials who said courts that use the screening see fewer prison sentences for nonviolent felonies. They said some counties that have the program reduced the number of days people spend in jail. In Pontotoc County, the screenings are also credited with reducing the amount of time defendants have to wait to get into drug court.<\/p><p>After screenings, Sparks recommends follow-up evaluations for people struggling with serious mental health conditions, and suggests outpatient treatment for people with drug or alcohol addiction.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>There are other risk factors Sparks highlights for the court.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u201cMaybe they didn\u2019t finish school, they\u2019re not employed, they don\u2019t have a lot of family or social support,\u201d Sparks said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>In those cases, clinicians might recommend ways to help defendants fill those gaps, but Sparks said they\u2019re just suggestions to help courts make decisions.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Without the screenings, Sparks thinks defendants wouldn\u2019t get the best possible treatment options because courts wouldn\u2019t know their individual histories.<\/p><p>Judges in Rogers and Creek Counties don\u2019t completely agree on the value of the defendant screenings. One judge is a big fan and thinks they should be used more often. Another said the screenings aren\u2019t always reliable, but said more information is always better.<\/p>\n<h3>Screening in action<\/h3><p>Rachel Chandler of Beggs has struggled with a painkiller addiction that started after she broke her back as a teenager. She was arrested in 2013 on four felony drug charges and received probation. She had to take drug tests regularly.<\/p><p>\u201cI had failed all the time,\u201d she said. \u201cThey gave me many chances.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>Chandler avoided prison after a screening with Human Skills and Resources. Staff recommended drug court, which had stricter rules but more treatment options than her probation program.<\/p><p>Chandler messed up in drug court, too. She tested positive for drugs multiple times and didn\u2019t follow the rules. But, Chandler says the report from her screening and her drug court administrator\u2019s willingness to give her one last chance carried a lot of weight with the district attorney\u2019s office.<\/p><p>Chandler remembered the warning from the district attorney: \u201cHe said, \u2018Don\u2019t screw this up. I\u2019m going out on a limb for you.\u2019 Because everybody else thought I should go to prison.\u201d<\/p><p>That time Chandler didn\u2019t screw up. She followed the rules and graduated drug court. Now, she\u2019s about to start unsupervised probation and she\u2019s living a stable life with her fianc\u00e9, her 3-year-old son and two stepkids.<\/p><p>\u201cThat one more chance \u2026 saved me,\u201d Chandler said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State officials are taking a program meant to help courts match felony defendants with treatment and rehabilitation services statewide. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":30885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-noFeature.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[979,980,977,766,978,981],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30884"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30894,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30884\/revisions\/30894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}