Pubdate: Sun, 13 Jul 2003
Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY)
Copyright: 2003 Messenger-Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.messenger-inquirer.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285
Author: Justin Willis, Messenger-Inquirer
Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

JAILER TAKES AIM AT SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Osborne: 'Need Is Here' for Treatment Proposal

Daviess County Jailer David Osborne is hoping to turn a vacant jail
building into an intensive substance abuse program for county inmates.
Momentum appears to be growing, he says.

Osborne is gathering feedback and support for the proposed project.
Support has already arrived from the jail's psychiatrist, Community
Solutions for Substance Abuse, representatives of the local Kentucky
Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (Ky-ASAP) and Gary Hall, senior
director of the regional prevention center.

"The need is here," Osborne said. "There's just too many people who
want to help and who are qualified and available. I can't believe the
momentum that's already building."

The program would allow 24 inmates to live and attend classes inside
the E. Louis Johnson Youth Alternative Center, which opened in 1996
but has been vacant for five years, Osborne said.

Participants would be screened and include only nonviolent offenders
arrested in Daviess County. The intensive program would include hours
of daily classes from three to six months, which would be led by area
substance abuse professionals. The building would be staffed 24 hours
by jail deputies. All participants would likely pay a fee to be in the
program, but a sum has not been determined.

Osborne will need Daviess Fiscal Court's financial support for the
program. The largest expense will be improvements to the building,
which was built without fire sprinklers. That could cost $20,000, he
said.

The program is fiscally feasible, he said. Inmates removed from the
main facility and placed in the new program would open 24 more spaces
for state inmates, which bring daily payments to the jail from state
government, Osborne said.

And a successful program would prevent many people from becoming
repeat offenders, which would save money for the county and lessen the
number of crimes in the community, he said.

"I think it's going to pay big dividends and improve the community by
making these guys go out and be better citizens," Osborne said.

Fiscal Court members are aware of the need for sprinkler construction
but have not held formal talks about the money, Commissioner Jim
Lambert said.

"I believe all the members of the court are supportive of that,"
Lambert said. "We're pleased that he's doing it, supportive of it,
think it's a great effort and hope that it's effective."

Between seven and eight of every 10 inmates in the Daviess County
Detention Center have a history of problems with drugs, alcohol or
both, Osborne said. Phone calls frequently arrive from relatives
frustrated with a loved one's addiction, which contributed to an
arrest on theft, forgery or drunken driving charges. Other casualties
of substance abuse problems may include marriages, jobs, bankruptcies
or losing custody of a child.

For many people, just being arrested is a significant wake-up call
about their substance problem, said Debbie Zuerner Johnson, director
of Community Solutions. The proposed program would be an ideal
opportunity to reach that crowd before they are released, she said.

Inmates at the jail already have resources, but they are limited.
Programs such as Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous exist. An
effort is under way to start a Hispanic Alcoholics Anonymous.

Many people make a concerted effort to change while in jail, Johnson
said. Once out, however, they may be without a place to stay or a car.
The people ask for help among their old circle of friends, who use
drugs or alcohol, and eventually the old habits return, she said.

"Many of them do not have the resources and do not know where to go
for help," Johnson said. "While incarcerated, why not do something
then to begin addressing those issues? It's just a prime
opportunity."

The recidivism rate at the jail is about 80 percent, Osborne said. In
other words, for every 10 people released by the jail, about eight of
them will be back.

There are two jails in Kentucky, in Christian and Hardin counties,
that operate intensive substance abuse programs. The numbers are
limited and competitive -- the Christian County jail offers 30 to 35
slots -- for a six-month, in-house drug and alcohol program, Christian
County Jailer Livy Leavell Jr. said.

Participants undergo 50 hours a week of counseling and undergo a
separate GED program from the other inmates, Leavell said. The roughly
5-year-old program is operated through the state Department of
Corrections using federal money.

"This has been an excellent program for us," Leavell said. "I can't
brag enough about it. Plus, it keeps these inmates from having idle
time."

To successfully treat an addict, he must be separated from the general
jail population, undergo a 12-step program, psychotherapy and, in some
cases, medication, said Arthur Burrows, psychologist and counselor for
the Christian County jail's Phoenix Recovery Center.

Studies show the threat of punishment for an addict has almost no
impact on his or her behavior, Burrows said.

"Just putting addicts in jail has dismally failed," he said. "Offering
a treatment condition has certainly been more successful than
punishment itself."

A successful program at the Daviess County jail could ultimately
benefit the entire community, Johnson said. Area agencies are
encouraged to become partners in the effort, she said.

"It will be a privilege to go to this program," Johnson said. "If
these people are able to stay clean and out of jail ... we all win."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake