By: The Plain Dealer Editorial Board The Plain Dealer

Cleveland Municipal Court enjoys a well- deserved reputation as one of the most progressive benches in Ohio. It continues to push the envelope.

Its latest initiative -- launched Wednesday -- sets a statewide precedent by providing nonviolent alcohol- and substance-abuse offenders access to comprehensive health care and support services, according to Judge Anita Laster Mays, who runs the court's drug docket. "You're not just treating the disease, you're treating the whole person and you're going to get a better outcome," Mays said for this editorial.

The court, in partnership with the Cleveland Department of Public Health, embarked on a No More Excuses strategy after the National Drug Court Institute found that offering medical care could substantially lower the likelihood of a return to criminal activity.

Noting that some drugs such as methamphetamines lead to "serious physical health and dental problems," the institute reported that drug courts that provided dental care lowered recidivism rates by an extra 59 percent and those that offered health care by 50 percent.

The expanded court services in Cleveland also will include GED counseling, to help offenders get high-school equivalency degrees.

"We want to make sure they are sober, educated and have good health," Mays told Plain Dealer reporter Peter Krouse.

A majority of the defendants in drug court are black males who did not graduate from high school and lack health insurance, according to a court spokesman.

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will help cover some of the costs, Mays said. Federal subsidies are available for services such as housing.

Two city clinics operated by the public health department will do HIV screenings while the Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services Inc., a network of community clinics, will provide vision and dental care, as well as other services.

Drug court already has demonstrated that addiction treatment is more effective than jail. Over the last 15 years, Mays said, 1,200 defendants have chosen to participate in the Cleveland drug court program. Their recidivism rate two years after completion is 20 percent.

An expansive, holistic approach to creating sustainable second chances should build on that success.

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