Tacoma
Number of clients: 40 at the start, then 35 (five clients removed from program)
Funding: Combination of Pierce County and state money (county money recently cut)
Results: Debatable. Administrators of the program originally claimed 86 percent of clients were “drug-free” at the end of the program. County auditors said the number was 50 percent. After a prickly debate of dueling definitions, the two sides settled on 57 percent, with lingering questions.
Fulton County, Ga.
Dates: December 2006- February 2007
Number of clients: 4
Funding: Hythiam Inc., Prometa’s parent company, provided the money.
Results: Program terminated. Court officials would not comment on reports of physician misconduct. No plans to try program again.
Gary, Ind.
Dates: November 2005-July 2007
Number of clients: 30 or 20 – reports conflict.
Funding: Hythiam
Results: Unclear. Hythiam promotional materials claim a 50 percent improvement over historical success rates in the court. The judge of the court praises the program. In October 2007, a court case manager said 13 of 30 Prometa clients were still drug-free.
Covington, La.
Dates: None
Number of clients: None (30 announced)
Funding: Hythiam
Results: Program never started, according to drug court judge.
Collin County, Texas
Dates: 2006
Number of clients: 20
Funding: Hythiam
Results: Nine of 20 clients still drug-free, according to court.
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