Pubdate: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 Source: Poughkeepsie Journal (NY) Copyright: 2001 Poughkeepsie Journal Contact: PO Box 1231 Poughkeepsie, NY 12602 Fax: (845) 437-4921 Feedback: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/news/forms/letter_form.htm Website: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/ Author: Mary Beth Pfeiffer, Poughkeepsie Journal Note: Part 3d of a 3 part series The Prison Explosion, Part 3d DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS Intensive Treatment Alternative Program Get sent to the Dutchess County Jail and you'll be screened for substance abuse. One of the treatment programs that can be recommended is the Intensive Treatment Alternative Program operated jointly by the Dutchess County Department of Probation and Community Corrections and the Dutchess County Department of Mental Hygiene. Participants -- usually first-time felons or repeat misdemeanor offenders -- have to agree to enter the program. Participation is often in lieu of incarceration, but some offenders may have to serve some jail time, as well, in order to meet the legal guidelines. Most ITAP participants are in the program longer than the minimum six months, said Michael North, unit administrator with the county's mental hygiene department. The mental hygiene department operates the day treatment program from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Probation officers monitor therapy and make home visits to verify participants are following therapy and are substance-free. North said about 30 percent of participants recidivate from treatment, but of those who complete the program, the recidivism rate is 10 to 15 percent over a three year period. Some ITAP participants start out in Transitional Housing, a 38-bed secure facility that also houses offenders awaiting treatment for substance abuse elsewhere, such as at Daytop or Turning Point at St. Francis Hospital. Without Transitional Housing, said Karen O'Connor, unit administrator of special programs at the probation department, people would wait in jail. "Most of the people who finish our program...go on to lead productive lives," said Dutchess County Commissioner of Mental Hygiene Kenneth M. Glatt. "They're not mugging, thugging, thieving, getting caught up in the criminal justice justice system...Treatment does work and treatment saves money, that's something I want to shout from every building in Poughkeepsie." Transition Program The transitions program at the Dutchess County Jail is aimed at offenders convicted of misdemeanor crimes who usually are in jail for a few months at most. "Our intent is focusing on transition -- what they do when they leave the jail and transition to the community," said Gary Christensen, assistant correction administrator at the Dutchess County Jail. "Our overall premise is that it's really for the citizens of the county so (the inmates) can transition without affecting other citizens." More than 90 percent of the jail's inmates return to Dutchess County communities, Christensen said. Participation is voluntary and anywhere from 50 to 100 inmates participate at any given time, Christensen said. Specially trained corrections officers screen the population every day, seeking eligible participants. The Dutchess County Department of Mental Hygiene also has assigned some staff to the jail to participate in screening. "The jail program is more difficult than the rest of jail. There's a lot of introspection that they are asked to complete. It's structured. They have to be out of bed at a certain time, exercise...others don't want to be bothered," Christensen said. James Alston, 19, and homeless, in jail for violating parole, said he views the transitions program as an opportunity. "There's really nothing left for me out there," Alston said. "I really don't want to make this (jail) a career. Even though this is jail, this shows there's still a way out." Transitions corrections officers Brooke Jones and Gary Charles said the program can give inmates hope. "Now the inmates believe they can change their lives," Charles said. "It's satisfying to see them doing better," said Jones. The recidivism rate since inception in November 1998 to September 2000 is 27 percent, Christensen said. On any given day, 70 percent of the regular jail population has been incarcerated there one or more times before, he said. "Nationwide statistics say that an active substance abuser will commit well over 100 offenses a year," said Christensen. "For one success you save (a number of) of felonies -- however many that might be." Drug Courts A drug court in the City of Kingston in Ulster County could be functioning by January. The City of Poughkeepsie is one of nine jurisdictions where drug courts are being planned. Planning for 18 drug courts in other jurisdictions is scheduled to begin this year. At this time, 19 drugs courts operate in New York state. The lure for the offender is avoiding the possibility of a long incarceration. "...There is almost a guarantee that the offender will spend a substantial amount of time in jail and the only way he can avoid jail is to become actively involved in the drug court program," said Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady. Kingston's drug court would handle mostly misdemeanors and some low-level felonies; Poughkeepsie's plan is to concentrate on people charged with misdemeanor offenses. Drug treatment is essential to the program, which also can include other steps, such as acquiring job skills, employment, schooling and other counseling. According to The New York State Commission on Drugs and the Courts, studies have shown that drug courts are successful: For instance, 13 percent of graduates from the Jefferson County (Kentucky) Drug Court were reconvicted of a felony within a year, as compared with 60 percent of non-graduates and 55 percent of a comparison group that declined to participate. Although he is supporting the drug court in Kingston, Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams questioned whether it is fair to the community and whether it will be cost effective. "It most certainly is not a simple situation," said Williams. "Yet the problem of drug addiction and selling continues." It's time to try something else concerning drug-addicted offenders, said Poughkeepsie City Court Judge Ronald McGaw, who would be Poughkeepsie's drug court judge. "A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting the same result," McGaw said. "And to the degree we've dealt with people in the traditional way hasn't worked. That's not to say incarceration is not useful or appropriate. What we're trying to do is find a balance that works." For information about the drug courts in New York state, log on to www.courts.state.ny.us.