Dorchester County Juvenile Drug Court Honored for Innovative Programs

(Cambridge, MD — June 21, 2005) The Drug Treatment Court Commission of Maryland has designated the Dorchester County Juvenile Drug Court the state’s Most Innovative Drug Court Campaign. The court incorporates creative boat-building and photography programs into a program that is designed to keep local teens both crime-free and substance-free.

“Dorchester County has developed some fresh ways for giving young people the life skills they need, while also building a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem,” said Gray Barton, executive director of the Drug Treatment Court Commission. “These young men and women work hard in the program, and, as they near their graduation, the changes they have undergone, the pride, self-esteem, and dedication, are evident on their beaming faces. It is hard to imagine that a short time ago, they were known as troubled teens with drug and alcohol problems.”

Through a partnership with the Richardson Maritime Museum & Boatworks, the Youth Build-A-Boat Program teaches young people about shipwrighting while they create a 19th century-style traditional skiff. Overseen by the museum craftsmen, the teens build a real, functioning wooden boat, while learning about carpentry, art design, history, mathematics, and themselves.

The Dorchester teens also participated in a photography workshop, “Art of Prevention,” to create exhibits demonstrating the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. One photograph showed two feet, the one on the left, well-manicured with painted nails and a silver anklet, the other, bare except a GPS locator device; the picture was titled simply, “Choose.” “Last Pep Rally,” another entry, showed the mangled interior of a wrecked car, with a bottle of liquor on the floor next to a foam sports finger.
The court has also partnered with the local community – including the county YMCA, the local pool, and the Dorchester County Arts Center – to provide young people with healthy alternatives to a life centered on drugs and alcohol.

Maryland has 10 juvenile drug courts established, and five more in the planning stages.

Please contact the Court Information Office at 410/260-1488 for more information.

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