Pubdate: Sat, 28 Jun 2003 Source: Hartford Courant (CT) Copyright: 2003 The Hartford Courant Contact: http://www.ctnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183 Author: Associated Press PRISONERS IN TREATMENT: 'DO IT NOW OR DIE' NIANTIC, Conn. -- When Cheryl Ann Miller, a 47-year-old mother of four, awoke from a drunken stupor one October day in 2000, she learned she'd just caused a car crash. She didn't even remember getting into the car. The crash caused only minor injuries, but it was the Danbury woman's second offense. She had injured an elderly man in a drunken accident several years before. On Nov. 15, 2001, a judge sentenced her to 26 months at York Correctional Institution here. Shortly after arriving Miller applied for admission to the Marilyn Baker House, an 82-bed substance abuse treatment ward on the prison grounds. She moved there in February 2002 and now serves as the program's senior peer mentor, helping new residents conquer their addictions. The Marilyn Barker House opened its doors about 11 years ago. Named for a former inmate who overcame addiction then helped others do the same, the program initially could only take 32 drug-or alcohol-addicted women at York. In January 1995 the six-month program - which has a three-to 12-month aftercare component - expanded its capacity after moving into a former mental health wing. Proponents of more treatment for prisoners with addictions point to programs like Baker House as proof that such programs reduce recidivism. A 1996 study by Central Connecticut State University found that a group of inmates who completed the Baker program were 64 percent less likely to return to prison in the year after release than those with similar addictions who did not participate. Miller, who entered drug rehabilitation programs outside prison twice before, said her experience at the Baker House has been transforming. "This is the first time in my life, take me as I am or don't take me at all," she said. Baker House deals with the psychological problems that contribute to Miller's chemical dependency, said Bob Carini, 51, who oversees the unit. Because of that approach, Miller's long-term prospects for recovery - and a life free of crime - are significantly improved, he said. "If you lock a person up, you're not dealing with the addiction," Carini said. "It's just dormant." At Lebanon Pines, private drug treatment center in Lebanon, counselor Gerry Egan would once have had a list of more than 40 prisoners seeking beds. The waiting list right now stands at 14. The number has fallen not because there are fewer drug-abusers awaiting trial in prison. Rather, Egan said, it's because the state discontinued its jail re-interview program and laid off the six bail commissioners who ran it. The commissioners would interview defendants to determine whether community release before trial would be appropriate. If so, judges could modify the defendants' bonds and replace them with special supervision programs such as the one at Lebanon Pines. Judges still have that authority, but no bail commissioners are assigned to refer inmates to the court. David Markie, 40, of East Hartford, entered Lebanon Pines on June 9; the Judicial Branch referred him to the program before the jail re-interview effort was discontinued. It's his second visit to the center for alcohol and cocaine addictions. Police arrested him seven months ago for stabbing his girlfriend in the stomach during a drunken blackout. Unable to post a $250,000 bond, he spent six months in prison before he went to the treatment center. While it's unclear whether he will eventually go to prison, Markie said his first concern now is maintaining sobriety. "It's either do it now," he said, "or die." - --- MAP posted-by: Alex