Building a therapeutic milieu – Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT)

Scope and Objectives

SCOPE

The ultimate goal of the proposed Therapeutic Milieu (TM) program is to reduce recidivism and thereby enhance public safety, prevent the suffering of victims and perpetrators, and save money. Many factors lead to criminality and recidivism within the legal judicial system. The current proposal addresses substance abuse.

Goals:  The overarching goals of the MCCC TM are cessation of substance abuse and reduced recidivism by participating inmates. 

OBJECTIVES

• Develop sustainable TM pods in the jail that change inmate behaviors with the following principles:

-        Increase inmates’ awareness and acknowledgment of the negative impact of substance abuse on their lives

-        Help inmates develop a greater sense of personal responsibility for their incarceration and other painful aspects of their lives.

-        Help inmates learn to respond less reactively and destructively to painful emotions such as anger, fear, frustration.

-        Help inmates develop a more comfortable sense of themselves -- decreased shame, envy, resentment,,grandiosity, etc.. 

-        Increase inmates’ recognition and understanding of triggers that lead to substance abuse.

o   Systematically expand the TM Pods to include as many inmates as possible, drawing from the pool of non-violent inmates with substance abuse problems and particularly respecting the needs of women inmates.

-        Develop policies and procedures enabling paid staff and volunteers to work effectively with correctional officers and other jail staff as well as with probation, community corrections, judges and court officers as well as volunteers and staff from other agencies and organizations in the community.

• Train and engage TM facilitators and conduct weekly staff meetings to review inmates’ progress.  In addition to formal training on specific treatment techniques, training will include co-facilitating treatment groups and supervision sessions.  The weekly staff meeting will be used to regularly update the goals and treatment plans for each inmate.  It will be lead by an experienced addictions therapist.   Provide a community support group for inmates’ family members (significant others) including

o   Support for dealing with the challenges of a loved one in jail

o   Education regarding dealing with an addicted family member during and after incarceration. l

o   Life skills training

o   Parenting education – developing capable people

o   Enrichment activities and mentoring for the children

• Provide aftercare

o   the Transition Program that assists with job search and navigation of the maze of community agencies for assistance by released inmates and families.

o   TM Aftercare group will provide continued  addictions treatment for inmates who are discharged from the TM into the community.  The TM Aftercare Group will be lead by one of the group facilitators who worked with the inmates in the TM.  The particpants’ treatment plans and progress will be reviewed on a regular basis during the weekly staff meetings

o   Thresholds – a proven program being adopted for use within the continuum of care model primarily inside the jail but expected to be continued for released inmates who desire to complete the program outside of the jail.

o   the CrossRoads ex-inmate and family support group that is beginning to get involved in projects such as a car wash and a garden.  Other money-making projects are under discussion at the weekly meetings.  Underway – grant funding will enable full development.

o   Additionally, Citizens for Effective Justice (CEJ), a voluntary advocacy group loosely linked to New Leaf - New Life, addresses broader community issues involved with reentry.  CEJ is advocating the formation of the City-County Task Force on Reentry to build a comprehesive continuum of care to assist released inmates to make a successful transition to the life and work of the community.  The Reentry Task Force has been endorsed by Mayor Kruzan and County Commissioner Joyce Poling but additional effort will be required in the months ahead to make the Task Force operational.

TM Program Description:

Jail management has designated a cell block (TM Pod) to be used by New Leaf for comprehensive substance abuse treatment (RSAT programming) for men and a smaller block for a similar program for women..  The proposed funding will be used to: a) provide a week long “Intake Program” that will provide support for new inmates and identify individuals who meet the criteria for being in the TM Pod..b)  provide the addictions programming in the designated cell block, c) provide after care to inmates b) operate an aftercare group for inmates who are successfully discharged from the addictions program into the local community, and d) operate a community support group for family members’ of inmates who participate in the program

Admission criteria for the Addictions Treatment Pod

• At least two substance related arrests