Hybrid Court For Drug Offenders Saves County Money

Macon County is having success and saving money with a hybrid court program that's keeping drug offenders out of prison and helping them turn their lives around.

The county court combines legal oversight with treatment for drug or alcohol abusers in legal trouble.
 
The Herald and Review in Decatur reports the program can save the county up to $13,000 in legal and incarceration costs for each person it keeps out of prison.
 
A dozen people completed the court's first program in a ceremony Friday.

The requirements include a year of continuous sobriety and finding a job or volunteer work.
 
One participant, Shannon Coefield, told the newspaper she overcame a decade of substance abuse. She says she now has a sense of self-respect.