The participants in the program are varied, but all have one thing in common: substance abuse.

One is coming off a 4.0 grade-point-average semester at a local university just a year after living in her car. Another has been a sober and productive member of society for the past two years since staring at 12 years of hard time.

Participants are sent to drug court on the recommendation of the state's attorney and by the discretion of the judge.

Candidates must be considered drug addicts and cannot be admitted into drug court if they have violent crimes in their past.

Once in the program, their lives are intensively scrutinized, strictly monitored and highly directed. If participants progress, they can earn rewards, which may include reduced scrutiny, more individual choices and, ultimately, graduation from the program, as one individual did Friday.

Director Michael Pisciotta said he is thrilled with how the program has gone in its first year. Participants, typically methamphetamine addicts looking at hard time, must appear in court every week, participate in rehabilitation and submit to random urine analyses three times a week.

"It's effective and it works, because you throw so much at them," he said.

The 2007 Legislature passed a bill to set up drug court for the first time and provide $212,000 to finance it. Additional funding for implementing the program came from a federal grant of $350,000 announced in July of 2007.

The weekly drug court is overseen by Fourth Circuit Magistrate Michelle Percy. Other members of the team include Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin, Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal, defense attorney Bruce Hubbard and Mary Wood-Fossen, executive director of the Northern Hills Alcohol and Drug treatment center.

Wood-Fossen said she has seen tremendous difference in Friday's graduate since he started the program a year ago.

"There was not much change for him until he got into drug court," she said.

Hubbard said he has defended many clients in his years as a defense attorney, and he has seen a change in the clients who participate in drug court.

"How it differs is the drug court provides wraparound services for the participants," he said. "I think that's the key to the program."

Accountability is a major goal of the drug court team members. Participants, who remain on probation throughout their time, basically waive their constitutional rights when they enter the program.

If they slip up, they are disciplined immediately. Too many screw-ups and they are kicked out of the program, which Wood-Fossen said has only happened twice in the program's history. That results in penitentiary time, which is suspended upon their entrance into the program.

Percy said she holds the participants accountable right away. It works, as does positive reinforcement.

"Sometimes it's as little as saying 'good job,'" she said. "I'm constantly amazed at how much they want to please us as a team and as a court."

2007-2008 Drug Court statistics

* 537 drug tests given to 9 participants

* 98 percent of the tests were negative for all substances

* 754 contacts with 9 participants in the community

* 2,781 phone contacts with 9 participants

* 100 percent of the participants are employed

* 2 participants failed to obey the program rules and were sent to prison

* 477 office visits with participants

* 14 sanctions for rule violations

* 8 sanctions involved incarceration