Emmet County Juvenile Drug Court

Judge Fred Mulhauser, Probate and Family Court Judge for Emmet and Charlevoix Counties recently announced the creation of a Juvenile Drug Court for Emmet County.  The Emmet County Juvenile Drug Court mission is to:  1) promote recovery for non-violent juvenile offenders ages thirteen to eighteen who have problems resulting from alcohol and other drug problems (AOD) by providing a range of strength-based services and intensive supervision to juveniles and their families enabling participants to move from community concerns to community contributors, 2) service a capacity of 25 juveniles the first year; and 3) staff ten drug court team members, five probation staff, and four school personnel.

The goal of implementing the drug court is to formalize what is currently in place, add additional partnerships, and strengthen existing services to provide a needed comprehensive continuum of care.  Another goal is to provide for continuing interdisciplinary education and monitoring of program goals to gauge effectiveness.  The court has committed to ongoing judicial interaction with each participant in an overall non-adversarial approach while promoting public safety.  The Court has received recognition for other creative programming including receipt of the 2004 Juvenile Justice Award for the State of Michigan which recognized Recovery High Substance Abuse Program, the two court schools, Great Lakes Academy and Lakeview Academy, and other court efforts.