[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 8999-9000]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TROUP COUNTY DRUG TREATMENT COURT

  (Mr. FERGUSON asked and was given permission to address the House

[[Page 9000]]

for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FERGUSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the work of the 
Troup County Drug Court in LaGrange, Georgia. I had the opportunity to 
speak at their commencement ceremony last week while I was back in the 
district.
  This program holds offenders with substance abuse and mental health 
disorders accountable through strict supervision and treatment, and 
allows them to get their lives back on track.
  As a dentist, I have had the opportunity to work with those suffering 
from substance abuse problems through my work with Hope Harbor, a 
Christian recovery center in my district. I have seen firsthand that, 
for every addiction, there is a real human being behind the statistic. 
These men and women have the potential to live long, productive lives 
serving their families and communities, and programs like this help 
them do just that.
  The success rate of these programs speaks volumes about their value 
to the community and those that graduate from the program. Seventy-five 
percent of drug court graduates never reoffend. This is almost 2\1/2\ 
times higher than the 30 percent success rate of those who serve a 
prison sentence and receive no treatment.
  I commend the hard work of the men and women of the Troup County Drug 
Court.

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