This includes:

• $400,000 in state and federal funds to establish our Drug Court program. More than 1,700 Drug Courts now operate in this country. They offer certain repeat offenders the opportunity to go into court-supervised treatment. Successful completion of the program allows criminal charges to be dismissed Drug Courts are proven to reduce recidivism and stop the revolving door in our court system and jails. Bottom line: they save money and save lives.

• $80,000 in state funds for expanded services to runaway and homeless youth We have hired a Runaway and Homeless Youth Coordinator at the Communirt Services Consortium (CSC) and established a Runaway and Homeless Youth Coalition to work on other solutions to the needs of our homeless young people.

• $540,000 in state funds to establish six units of Permanent Supportive Housing for chronically homeless people.

• $625,000 in federal Drug Free Communities grant money to bring the fight against substance abuse--especially among our young people--to a new level. This award is $125,000 a year for five years, with the possibility of renewal for an additional five years.

• I also saved the county $330,673 by bringing back electronic home detention for paroled offenders.

• I blocked a plan to close three of the Senior Meals sites in the county and helped develop a process to increase community supports for the Waldport Meal Site.

• I oversaw the expansion of our Veterans Services office to two full-time employees. With a better location and increased hours to serve Veterans, we are doing more for those who served our country than ever before. But we're doing even more. In early 2009, the VA will place a doctor and a mental health worker at our Lincoln City Health Clinic.

During my second term, I want to see:

A Mental Health Court modeled on our successful Drug Court. Jails and prisons are the largest provider of mental health services in this country. A Mental Health Court would provide people whose criminal acts are driven by mental illness an opportunity to go into court-supervised treatment. Like Drug Court, this is a more humane approach that also saves the system money in the long run by stopping the revolving door in the courts and jail.

A Relief Nursery for at-risk families. The first Relief Nursery was created in Eugene 30 years ago, and several more have been established in the state since then. This is a comprehensive program that provides child care, home visits and parenting classes. Relief Nurseries have a proven track record of saving families and improving childrens' lives.