- Wood County Circuit Court Judge Jason Wharton, left, listens as Drug Court graduate Ralph “R.J.” Jones speaks about the program during a ceremony honoring drug court graduates and celebrating the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court Monday at the Judge Black Annex. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
- West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Evan Jenkins speaks with Parkersburg residents and Wood County Drug Court participants Shawn Jones and Rachael Davis Monday before a ceremony honoring drug court graduates and celebrating the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court Monday at the Judge Black Annex. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
- West Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Hutchison speaks to Wood County Drug Court graduates and participants during a ceremony honoring the graduates and celebrating the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court Monday at the Judge Black Annex. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Wood County Circuit Court Judge Jason Wharton, left, listens as Drug Court graduate Ralph “R.J.” Jones speaks about the program during a ceremony honoring drug court graduates and celebrating the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court Monday at the Judge Black Annex. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
PARKERSBURG — Circuit judges hope to follow the success of Wood County’s Drug Court with a program aimed at safely reuniting families in child abuse and neglect cases.
Three West Virginia Supreme Court justices joined local officials Monday to celebrate the most recent Drug Court graduates and mark the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court.
“The goal is reunification,” said Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton, who oversees the Drug Court and will also take on Family Treatment Court duties. “Safety and the best interest of the child are the two key factors in every decision.”
Wood County’s is the eighth Family Treatment Court to open in the state, with two more planned for later this summer, said Chautle Haught, state Family Treatment Court specialist.
The program follows the Drug Court’s multidisciplinary approach and milestone model in working with individuals who have substance abuse disorders and are involved in child abuse and neglect cases.
West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Evan Jenkins speaks with Parkersburg residents and Wood County Drug Court participants Shawn Jones and Rachael Davis Monday before a ceremony honoring drug court graduates and celebrating the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court Monday at the Judge Black Annex. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
“It’s a program to get these kids home faster,” said Haught, noting that approximately 65 children have been returned to homes since West Virginia’s first Family Treatment Court opened.
Candidates for the program can be referred by judges, attorneys or Child Protective Services workers, Wharton said. They must be people who are the subject of civil petitions alleging abuse and neglect, likely with children having already been removed from the home.
Regular visitation will be a part of the program, Wharton said, to remind parents of the goal toward which they’re working. Mental health and substance abuse treatment and medical, dental and housing assistance could all be part of the program, Haught said.
Returning the children to the home is not the end of the process, but another step, Wharton said.
The local Department of Health and Human Resources office has dedicated a CPS worker to assist families in the program, Wharton said, so efforts will not be diverted from other child abuse and neglect cases. Other organizations partnering in the Family Treatment Court effort include the Wood County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, 4th Circuit Public Defender Corporation, Westbrook Health Services, Harmony Mental Health, Birth to 3, the Children’s Home Society, the Court-Appointed Special Advocate program, Wood County Board of Education, Aetna Better Health and Peer Solutions.
West Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Hutchison speaks to Wood County Drug Court graduates and participants during a ceremony honoring the graduates and celebrating the opening of the county’s Family Treatment Court Monday at the Judge Black Annex. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Wharton said he’s looking forward to the program, based on his experience with the Drug Court.
“I see in our Drug Court participants the changes from day one when they walk in to when they graduate,” he said. In the new program, “we’re affecting the entire family.”
The ceremony opened with recognition of two new Drug Court graduates and 18 who could not be recognized when they graduated over the last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among them was Ralph “R.J.” Jones, who wound up in court in 2019 after he and a woman were charged with stealing concessions, money and a portable defibrillator from the Worthington Ball Fields.
“He went from living in a tent to completing Drug Court, and now he’s working at St. Joseph Recovery Center,” Wharton said.
Jones said he was wary of the program at first, but started following their suggestions after gradually realizing the people in the program genuinely cared about him.
“I thought all judges were just there to lock you up,” he said.
West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Evan Jenkins and Justices Tim Armstead and John Hutchison attended the event and expressed their support for the Drug and Family Treatment Court programs.
“We want you to succeed,” Armstead said to the Drug Court graduates and those still going through the program. “And we’re excited for you, that you’ve been able to accomplish this.”
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.
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