BUTTE — More than 100 people, including attorneys, police, firefighters judges and individuals who have worked through the Family Drug Court, gathered on Dec. 19 for District Court Judge Kurt Krueger’s annual Family Drug Court Christmas Party.
"My girls are my everything and we get to live together and be together every day. I wouldn’t have that if it wasn’t for drug court," says Misty Stoetzner, a recent graduate of the Family Drug Court. "The fact that I still get to be with them and be a part of their life is amazing."
Stoetzner says she was on the verge of losing custody of her children permanently when she entered the Butte Family Drug Court program that was created by Judge Krueger twenty years ago.
"It’s been the big part of my judicial career. Seeing the people that have had difficulties with society are able to come back into society as productive members," says Judge Krueger.
When it first started, The Butte Family Drug Court was one of only three in the state of Montana. Now there are 36 family drug courts across the state. Each year anywhere from 15 to 20 applicants are accepted in the Butte program but Krueger says the most successful aspect of the program extends beyond the individual.
"It’s been very successful in terms of the overall family because we’re treating the whole family and we’re providing services to the entire family," he says.
The family drug court receives federal funding, and Krueger says a team of professionals works with individuals who enter the program that may look different in the coming years as Judge Krueger is set to retire at the end of December.
"Judge (Frank) Joseph will continue this as well. It’ll be a different type of drug court but, yes, the basic program will be continuing," says Judge Krueger.
For individuals like Mose Moulton, who was facing charges stemming from crimes related to his drug addiction, the program can offer a path to sobriety.
"The program changed my life, you know? It showed me how to live a different way than the way I lived my whole life. I was an addict my whole life from age 11," says Moulton.
Moulton went through the family drug court from 2018 through 2022. Along with addiction counseling, Mose says he got access to financial advisors who taught him how to budget. Now he is a business owner, and his five children are back in his life.
"Going through the program I just, I just learned how to live a normal life," says Moulton.
