Pubdate: Sat, 29 Mar 2014
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Copyright: 2014 World Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/463
Author: Graham Lee Brewer, The Oklahoman
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

TEST AT HALFWAY HOUSE FINDS MANY ON DRUGS

The Community Corrections Center Is Run by Avalon, Which Closed in Tulsa.

OKLAHOMA CITY - A surprise drug screening at a private Oklahoma City 
halfway house this week showed that more than half of the offenders 
were using illegal drugs.

The state Department of Corrections randomly tested 153 offenders 
Monday at the Carver Transitional Center, and 78 tested positive.

The community corrections center is operated by Avalon Correctional 
Services Inc., which also ran Avalon Tulsa, a Tulsa halfway house 
that was closed after there were allegations of organized inmate fights.

The vast majority of the drug-test failures at Carver were for the 
active ingredient in marijuana.

Others tested positive for PCP, methamphetamine and opiates.

While still under the purview of the state Corrections Department, 
offenders at a halfway house such as Carver are allowed to leave the 
facility during the day and work.

They are required to return each evening and pass through a security 
checkpoint before entering the center.

They have most of the same restrictions as in prisons, such as 
prohibitions on the use of drugs and cellphones.

The Corrections Department canceled its contract with Avalon Tulsa in 
January amid three ongoing investigations and removed 212 offenders 
from that facility.

In a January letter to Avalon, the department said it had "lost 
confidence in the administration of the Tulsa facility" and that no 
offenders would be sent there until after the department has 
completed and reviewed the findings of the investigations.

One of those investigations pertains to allegations that officers at 
the Tulsa facility organized fights between offenders.

Many of the offenders who were transferred from the Tulsa center 
ended up at Carver.

Newly hired Corrections Department Director Robert Patton said he had 
received information that there was a drug problem at the facility 
and ordered the tests.

"I'm extremely concerned with these numbers," Patton said.

"I contacted Avalon, directed an action plan be developed to address 
these issues, and expect that action plan no later than Monday."

The tests are an example of an increase in accountability with 
private operators, said Patton, who has said recently that greater 
oversight of private contracts is one of his top priorities.

Avalon has asked the Corrections Department to repopulate the Tulsa 
facility, and Patton said he will review the company's plan of action 
next week before making a decision on whether to send state offenders 
back to that center.

Brian Costello, president of Avalon, acknowledged that drug use is a 
large and ongoing problem in community correction centers such as Carver.

"When these offenders get to a halfway house and get their first 
taste of freedom, many of them make bad decisions and fall back to 
drug use," Costello said in an emailed statement.

Costello said the business' plan will include increased drug testing 
of its offenders, the creation of substance abuse programs, and 
heightened security measures to keep drugs out of the facilities.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom