Juvenile drug court official quits

The coordinator of Kootenai County’s failed juvenile drug court quit Monday.

Marina Kalani said she voluntarily quit after Kootenai County commissioners made it clear they no longer wanted to provide money for a revised program that would replace the now-defunct Juvenile Education and Training Court.

“Their lack of desire to move forward, that for me was the writing on the wall,” Kalani said Tuesday night.

In a separate prepared statement, Kalani said she wanted to pursue “other avenues of interest and employment” but would not provide specifics.

County Prosecutor Bill Douglas hired Kalani in March 2004. Kalani was the third coordinator to oversee the court since it started in November 2002.

JET Court came to an abrupt end Feb. 16 when 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson quit, saying he had “serious concerns about ongoing personnel problems and legal issues.”

Because no other judge would take over the program, Douglas and Kalani were working to revamp its focus to helping children beat substance abuse before they ended up in the county court system. JET Court took high-risk children who had already violated probation and gave them an alternative to jail time.

Douglas said Tuesday that he hasn’t decided whether he will continue work toward establishing the new program or hire a replacement for Kalani.

Kalani’s resignation came the day after the Kootenai County Commission released heavily edited copies of roughly half of 1,060 e-mail exchanges in the past year between Kalani and Douglas.

The commission asked for the e-mails in an attempt to find out more details about the management and finances of the failed drug court. The commissioners, who received unedited copies, haven’t yet come to any conclusions.

“Ms. Kalani did an outstanding job for the kids and the families of our community,” Douglas said Tuesday, reading from a written statement. “She will be missed by our office.”

Commission Chairman Gus Johnson said the commission was informed of Kalani’s resignation. He said commissioners are frustrated that an attorney provided by the county’s insurance company is preventing the release of more information, even to commissioners themselves.

Johnson said he still doesn’t have a good understanding of the events leading to the abrupt demise of the court program.

“I don’t have a good handle on this situation,” Johnson said. “We are waiting for legal counsel and to see what our next step is.”

The insurance company provided an attorney to review the e-mails for the commission and decide which ones could be released to the public. The insurance company is involved because the prosecutor’s office has a conflict of interest, as do the county’s civil attorneys because they all have been deputized by Douglas.

The company also provided an attorney for Douglas.

Simpson’s disassociation from the court followed a nearly monthlong period when the U.S. Department of Justice shut down the county’s access to $498,000 in grant money because Kalani failed to provide a quarterly report on how the program was running.

The report was received in mid-February, and the county regained access to the cash.

There also are questions regarding the success of the program.

Since the grant’s start, 44 children enrolled in the program, with 12 graduating. The six children remaining in the program were recently referred to the juvenile court judge.

Some people, including the manager of the juvenile detention center, blamed JET Court’s problems on Kalani’s management.

The manager, J.T. Taylor, wrote in a Feb. 14 letter to Simpson that his issues with JET Court revolved around the “inappropriate, unprofessional and unethical conduct” of Kalani and that she has “significant character issues and questionable practices.”

Douglas, who oversees the JET Court, was adamant that the program was successful and that its critics have been unfair, especially in their personal attacks on Kalani.

Kalani said it’s ridiculous to believe one person could destroy the program.