After 18 months of near-constant supervision, meetings, testing and check-ins, George Radee and Brandon Stevens are the first to graduate from Johnson County’s new adult drug treatment court.
“I’m just ready for the future that I have and what I’ve built and the foundation that I have now to continue on,” Radee said. “Thank you very much.”
At a ceremony Thursday, the two graduates embraced the treatment court’s Judge Kelly Ryan as he handed them customized coins celebrating their advancement through the program. Several others in the program were also honored as they entered the next phase of their treatment.
By graduating from adult drug treatment court, charges against Radee and Stevens are wiped clean from their records, and their probationary period has ended.
‘We’re always evolving’
Under Johnson County’s adult treatment court, individuals with substance use disorders are referred to private counseling for 12 to 18 months of court-supervised treatment after their case is adjudicated. After the treatment program is successfully completed, the charges are dismissed.
Here’s more information about how the program works.
“We’re always evolving,” Ryan said. “What we’re trying to do in recovery court — I like that term even better than drug treatment court because it’s recovery — it’s holding people accountable, but at the same time helping them.”
The drug treatment court launched in 2023, alongside a behavioral health treatment court, following the earlier success of a veterans treatment court. While the drug treatment court is still relatively new to Johnson County, the concept has been around for decades, Ryan said.
Kansas established drug treatment courts in 2004 for people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, and that eligibility was opened up in 2023 to include those who committed non-drug, non-person offenses.
In December 2024, Johnson County had 15 active participants in the program.
Wyandotte County has had its drug treatment court for 16 years. A 2020 graduate of the Wyandotte program spoke Thursday, sharing her story and giving advice to the program’s participants:
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, she said. Try every trick others give you to help you stay sober — you never know what’s going to work. And don’t stop doing what helps.
“It’s about developing the community around folks,” said Tim DeWeese, director of the Johnson County Mental Health Center. “I think that’s the beauty of this, is that you look at the district court, you look at the DAs office, you look at the mental health center, you look at the correction department, law enforcement — all coming together to help support you. I couldn’t be more proud to work in and live in a community that supports treatment courts.”
The roughly 18-month program has six phases. Throughout the entire program, participants are subjected to random drug testing. The first phase is the most straightforward: Spend 14 consecutive days sober. The remaining phases, and how long they last, depend on the participant, Ryan said.
During phases one through three, participants are required to check-in at court every other week. The earlier phases focus on finding housing and employment as needed, or building job skills in preparation for job hunting.
Phase four is the turning point when participants can step back from visiting the court — visits turn from every other week to monthly.
The last phase focuses on life after the program — what their plans are for long-term housing and employment and what their plans are if they relapse. It also focuses on social skills for life after treatment.
“Every day, I’m reminded about the profound impact that substance dependence has on our judicial system,” Sarah Warner, Chief Judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals said Thursday. “That’s what makes this, today, being here with the treatment court so successful — you two graduates, through your dedication, through your courageous willingness to engage in this rigorous program, you have broken free of that cycle.”
