VIDALIA &8212; After eight years of one judge&8217;s hoping, Concordia Parish still doesn&8217;t have an adult drug court.

&8220;I would love to do an adult court,&8221; Judge Kathy Johnson said. &8220;I was elected in 1996, and since 1997 I&8217;ve been trying to get the court.&8221;

Johnson, a judge for the Seventh Judicial District in Concordia and Catahoula parishes, already runs a juvenile drug court, but she wants to build on the success of that program with a similar one for adults.

The Concordia Parish program is one of 40 Louisiana drug court programs. The drug courts are set up specifically to deal with criminals for whom drug use was a strong contributing factor in their crime.

The juvenile program has 33 offenders in it now. They are put on a strict regimen and closely monitored by probation officers. They must pass random drug tests and stick to a curfew.

&8220;We have five kids who have gotten their GEDs. One guy recently got a job that pays $14.50 an hour,&8221; Johnson said. &8220;It&8217;s really worked for many of them, not that we haven&8217;t had some with problems. What I enjoy is the parents that tell me what the program has done for their child.&8221;

Adult programs work in similar fashion to the juvenile court, Johnson said.

&8220;Most drug court judges prefer doing it (rather than juvenile court),&8221; Johnson said. &8220;Most of the adults have pled to charges, and drug court is a condition of their probation.&8221;

Those in the drug court program aren&8217;t all there for drug charges,