the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana beacon7-18web | Page 3

July 2018
THE BEACON
Two Programs- One Common Goal
Continued from page 1A
Masters degree in nursing
from the University of Cin-
cinnati. She had two children
when she went through a di-
vorce. Moving back home to
Lawrenceburg was the right
choice during those trying
times.
The judge was employed
at Dearborn County Hospital
and quickly rose to being
director of nursing. She saw
quite a bit of medical firsts
and many cutting-edge tech-
nological advances at DCH.
“A lot of people don’t realize
how much has been accom-
plished at DCH, and in our
community, over the years.
We are very lucky to be a part
of this community,” stated
Judge McLaughlin.
But the judge wasn’t fin-
ished there. She considered
pursuing a career in law. Her
father had a long career as an
attorney and played a pivotal
part in influencing Judge
McLaughlin’s decision. But
how to do it with two small
children?
Judge McLaughlin chose
the Salmon P. Chase College
of Law program which
allowed her
to attend
classes at
night to earn
her degree.
She kept her
position at
DCH while
studying to
Judge Sally A.
become an
attorney and
McLaughlin
raise her
children. Eventually, Judge
McLaughlin began working
at Children’s Hospital in
Cincinnati while finishing law
school. During that time she
added to her busy life and had
a third child.
Upon graduation from law
school, Judge McLaughlin
continued to work as a nurse
at Children’s Hospital. She
also accepted a position as a
part-time prosecutor for Dear-
born County and was also
involved in private practice.
When the job of full-time
prosecutor opened, she went
for it. Judge McLaughlin held
that position of Dearborn
County Prosecutor for eleven
years.
As Dearborn County
grew, so did the need for
another superior court. Judge
McLaughlin was asked if she
would consider taking the
position of Judge in Superior
Court II. The rest, as they say,
is history. Judge McLaughlin
saw the increasing need for
a course of action for those
Part of the treatment in JCAP is learning how to “give back.”
JCAP participants share their stories and how the program
helped them with students at Greendale Middle School.
suffering from addiction who
were driven to criminal acts.
She became passionate about
developing an effective pro-
gram to help these individu-
als. The result- JCAP- the Jail
Chemical Addiction Program.
JCAP’s success lies in the
formation of a “therapeutic
community” within the deten-
tion facility. Inmates can help
each other because they know
what each other is going
through. A key component
of the program is Cognitive
behavior Therapy- the focus
on changing one’s mind set
from “Why me?” to
“Okay, now what. I need to
move forward in a positive
way and have a better quality
of life.”
JCAP participants go
through a rigorous assess-
ment before being admitted
into the program. They must
demonstrate a sincere desire
to change. They cannot have
a history of mental illness,
dealing in drugs, or sexual
offenses. Once accepted into
the program, they are as-
signed senior mentors to help
them through the process.
Inmates within the “com-
munity” work with addiction
counselors who have earned
a master’s in social work.
While incarcerated, they are
surrounded by others going
through the same struggles.
What makes Judge
McLaughlin’s JCAP program
even more amazing is that
it is run without one cent of
taxpayer dollars.
Over the past ten years,
JCAP has been refined and
tweaked based upon feed-
back from those who have
participated in the program.
JCAP has become so suc-
cessful with its participants
having such a high recovery
rate, that the program is being
reviewed and adopted all over
Indiana.
When asked about her fu-
ture plans, Judge McLaughlin
responded, “I am not sure yet.
I feel that there is so much
more that I can do for the
community. I am unsure what
that path will be yet.”
What an inspiration for all
of us.
The second community
leader pursuing opportunities
to make a difference in our
community is Mayor Kelly
Mollaun. He instigated a
Quick Response Team known
as QRT. The team’s purpose
is to help victims and their
families when drug abuse
is prevalent by providing
information. After a person
has overdosed or has been
arrested on a drug-related
charge, the questions for that
person and the family are
almost endless. What happens
now? Where can I get help?
How can I help a loved one
who is suffering from drug
addiction?
QRT helps answer some
of those questions by reach-
ing out to the drug user and
the family to offer support
and information. The QRT
consists of the mayor, chief
of police, an emergency
medical response person, and
a Community Mental Health
addictions counselor. They
offer support and a packet of
information with resources
and treatment options that are
available in the community.
Often parents or family mem-
bers may know of someone
with drug addiction but may
not know where to turn for
help. The QRT packets are
available to the public at
Lawrenceburg Police Depart-
ment.
Community leaders are
rising to the occasion to help
those in need. Other programs
are being investigated and de-
veloped including one Law-
renceburg will be viewing as
a pilot program for addiction
treatment. Closing the gaps
in communication between
treatment entities for those
in need is the primary focus.
Stay tuned while our commu-
nity works hand-in-hand to
solve a crisis once again.
Page 3A
Victory Dance
Morgan Kay Williams,
won the Showcase
American Youth Solo
Nationals Championship.
This rounds out the Gold
she won a few years ago.
Morgan has danced since
she was three and has won
numerous competitions in
solo and team divisions. She
is the Captain of the Youth Team and won Captain of the
Day three times in t he 2018 competition season. She has
competed in jazz, lyrical, pom and hip hop routines.
Morgan owes a thank you to Robyn Burke and Kelly
Hullinger, her coaches, and to her mother for all the
late nights, sewing costumes, making props and always
supporting her. Morgan Kay is a resident of Hidden Valley
and a student at Sunman-Dearborn Middle School.
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