Judge acts to deliver aid as well as justice

BY RUTH LIAO

Published in the Statesman Journal on April 8, 2007

In the courtroom, two teen parents and their infant, Adrian, took the stand in front of a judge.

"You guys are 17. You've had a tough time in both of your lives," said Marion County Circuit Judge Pamela Abernethy. "But you're in recovery, and you got this small guy."

Abernethy, 55, oversees the juvenile court system. She deals directly with pregnant moms, delinquent teens and parents fighting for custody of their children.

Adrian's parents were involved in Fostering Attachment, one of Abernethy's strategies created recently to battle the increasing caseload of state custody petitions. In 2006, 1,025 petitions were filed for children taken into state custody.

Abernethy also oversees STAR Court, a juvenile drug court, and Ten on Tuesday, founded in an effort to keep pregnant young women clean.

"These programs really try to build a team of support," Abernethy said. "It's one of the stratagems we know will work."

Because most of the programs still are new, results are hard to track. But child abuse advocates identify Abernethy as a community leader pushing a growing focus on children from birth to 3 years old.

Abernethy's work with families and juveniles affected by drugs and crime is based on a theory that if families support their infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers now, they'll be less likely to end up in foster care or adult criminal court years down the road.

Deputy District Attorney Courtland Geyer called Abernethy's programs innovative because the effects can be more lasting.

"We definitely appreciate long-term planning," Geyer said. "I've always believed in pay now, or you pay later, and end up paying a lot later."

Fostering Attachment

Launched in January 2006, Fostering Attachment is a court that brings treatment counselors and parenting resources together to support parents whose children are in state custody. The monthly court sessions aim to supervise parents with known drug histories.

The program can serve families of as many as 24 children at a time. Eighteen parents and 22 children have participated, said Cheryl Weatherly, a supervisor for Family Building Blocks, a relief nursery that partners with the court program. Seven mothers and one father have graduated. All graduates stayed clean throughout the program, which lasts from nine months to a year.

Referrals come from the Department of Human Services, attorneys and treatment counselors. But more parents are eligible than officials can keep count.

"We don't keep stats on parents by age of their kids, but there's clearly more than we have room for," Abernethy said.

Ten on Tuesday

In 2003, Abernethy decided to encourage pregnant women with a known drug history to stay clean. The program lacks funding or grants, but Abernethy commits to meeting regularly with 10 women to monitor their pregnancies and prevent them from using drugs during their pregnancies.

For every baby born clean, taxpayer money can be saved that would be otherwise spent on support services, said Sarah Morris, a Marion County deputy district attorney.

Morris prosecutes adults charged with crimes that include endangering their children because of drug use. Her office often recommends mothers who might have other children already in foster care to Abernethy's program.

"What I see is the inter-generational problem of substance abuse, definitely meth, but also other drugs," Morris said. "There are officers every day who are arresting the moms, grandma, grandma's boyfriend, the dad -- multiple children are involved. And it's an enormous systemic failure."

STAR Court

Abernethy also oversees a drug court for delinquent juveniles. Judge Thomas Hart modeled the juvenile program after the county's adult drug court when it was created in 2001.

During a recent session, a boy named Kevin read aloud what positive actions he could take in his life, namely skateboarding and surfing the Internet.

Abernethy told Kevin that he could be proud of the actions he chose, but warned him to stay clean.

"I want to make sure you're not hanging out with skateboarding friends who smoke 'bud,' as you call it," she said.

Juveniles often serve in STAR Court if intake officials flag their cases during detention. Referrals also come from parents, Oregon Youth Authority, Marion County juvenile probation programs, defense attorneys or by order of a judge.

Traditional substance abuse recovery programs have been based on the individual, which still works, Abernethy said. But including drug treatment for families helps the children, she said.

"Add to that the profound joy of getting to be a great parent," Abernethy said. "They're supporting and enhancing the fabulous architecture of the physical structure of children's brains."

On the day that Adrian and his parents appeared in court, Abernethy considered some violations the parents had committed -- the mother had missed a drug test, and the father stopped attending mandatory parenting classes.

Abernethy ruled that the mother and father would face tough sanctions -- the mother would have to continue with drug testing and lose any prior earned steps in the program. The father, working in Wilsonville, would have to apply for jobs in Salem because he claimed his commute was the reason why he missed classes.

"We're not going away, but we're also here to get you help," Abernethy said.

Abernethy is the former chair of the International Board of Directors for AMIGOS.