Building the First In-Prison Therapeutic Community for Level IV Custody Offenders at the California State Prison-Los Angeles County (LAC): An Overview - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Building the First In-Prison Therapeutic Community for Level IV Custody Offenders at the California State Prison-Los Angeles County (LAC): An Overview

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Title: Building the First In-Prison Therapeutic Community for Level IV Custody Offenders at the California State Prison-Los Angeles County (LAC): An Overview


1
Building the First In-Prison Therapeutic
Community for Level IV Custody Offenders at the
California State Prison-Los Angeles County
(LAC) An Overview
2
Background
  • In order to talk about LAC, it is important to
    understand both the background of the California
    Criminal Justice Initiative..
  • And Amitys background in that initiative.
  • (More detail is available on the Amity
    Foundation website ).
  • www.amityfoundation.com
  • ?

3
Beginnings..
  • 1n November of 1987, CDC Director Jim Rowland
    asked Amity Chief Executive Rod Mullen and Deputy
    Naya Arbiter to consult.
  • Were filling up the prisons with drug
    offenders, said Rowland, and we are doing
    nothing effective about drug abuse while these
    offenders are in prison or on parole.

4
Recommendations..
  • Mullen Arbiter toured several prisons and
    parole regions, then spoke to Rowlands Executive
    Staff.
  • Find a prison that has never had a drug
    program, and a Warden who is respected by his
    peers and who will support a model program
    based on the therapeutic community approachwhich
    research demonstrates is the most effective. If
    the model shows good results, it can then be
    expanded. Mullen Arbiter, 1987

5
Rowlands actions
  • Director Roland began a task force on the drug
    problem.this led to the formation of the Office
    of Substance Abuse Programs, headed by David
    Winette.
  • OSAP proposed developing one model program in a
    prison, and two parolee networksone in the San
    Francisco Bay Area (BASN) the other in San Diego
    (P3).
  • Rowland then placed a call to Warden John
    Ratelle

6
John Ratelle and R.J. Donovan
  • Rowland Warden Ratelle, a 30 year CDC veteran
    and asked him if he would host the model program.
  • Warden Ratelle and Associate Warden Tom Hornung
    visited the Amity/Pima County Jail Project in
    Tucson, which provided TC treatment for 50
    incarcerated substance abusers.
  • I dont like treatment, said Ratelle, but I
    like this.
  • A request for proposal was issued in 1990.
  • Amity was the successful bidder

7
Facility III at R.J. Donovan, 1100 Level III
custody inmates
Amity Housing Unit
Amity Program Trailers
8
The housing unit, 200 men double celled...
9
Outcomes / Drug Use in Prison
  • Warden Ratelle conducted two complete surprise
    tests of ALL men in the Amity unit, no TC or
    custody staff were warned all men locked down in
    their cells at the same time and not released
    until all had given a urine specimen
  • In one test, only one man of 200 was positive for
    drugs.
  • In the second test, none of the men tested
    positive.

10
Outcomes / Benefits to CDC staff
  • There is a similarly positive striking
    reduction of work injury, sick leave and other
    personal quality of life/cost impact among
    custody assigned to the treatment unit Amity
    versus officers in all other yards and housing
    units.
  • David Deitch, Ph.D, Director of the Addiction
    Technology Transfer Center at UCSD (1998) From a
    six month study conducted by UCSD at the RJ.
    Donovan Correctional Facility between January 1,
    1997 and June 30th, 1997.)

11
Outcomes/Recidivism Reduction
  • Comparisons of Inmates who did NOT participate
    show that 3/4ths of them were back in prison
    three years after release.
  • But only about 1/4 of the Amity participants who
    completed the program were in prison.

From a study conducted by H.Wexler, Ph.D.
1998 NDRI funded by NIDA
12
Outcomes / Cost benefits
  • The 1997 Legislative Analysts Report on Prison
    Population growth determined that if the Amity
    results could be replicated through an expansion
    of substance abuse treatment to 10,000 beds over
    seven years, the state would not have to build an
    additional 4,700 beds. That scenario would also
    result in a one time capital outlay savings of
    210,000,000 with annual savings of 80,000,000 a
    year.

13
Amity Model adopted by CDC
  • The results of the Amity/RJD program have become
    the template for the expansion of therapeutic
    community type drug treatment within CDC.
  • In 1996 there were 400 TC beds
  • Currently 9,000 beds with funded aftercare have
    been authorized by the State Legislature.
  • Amitys TC at California State Prison at Los
    Angeles County, started in 1998, is the first to
    bring this type of intensive TC to Level IV
    offenders..

14
Outcomes / Replication of Model
15
Breakthrough
  • The Amity program at R.J. Donovan , and the
    results that it has achieved, can be considered a
    breakthrough in correctionsone of those rare
    occasions when that overused term, paradigm
    shift is genuinely appropriate.
  • James Rowland, Director, California Department
    of Corrections (retired)

16
Significance..
the Criminal Justice Treatment Initiative in
the California Department of Corrections is the
largest single state initiative in U.S. history
targeting criminal drug offenders. The growth
of this initiative can be credited to the
outcomes obtained by the Amity Foundation, which
established the Amity Prison Therapeutic
Community at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional
Facility in November of 1990. Robert Presley,
Agency Secretary, Youth and Adult Correctional
Agency, November, 2000
17
CSP-LAC
  • Five year contract awarded to Amity Foundation
    beginning June, 1998.
  • Amitys 2nd In-Prison TC (SAP)now have added CTF
    Soledad CSP Ironwood (Blythe).
  • Target Population 200 Level IV inmates with
    identified substance abuse problems in their
    files (or volunteers).
  • Amity participants housed on yard D, Building 3.
    Trailers built in the vocational area (behind
    work change) for Amity program activities.

18
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19
Who are the men in the Amity TC?
  • Average age 31 years old-younger than other male
    SAPs
  • Length of current incarceration 4.4 yearsover
    twice as long as any other SAP, and and eight
    times longer than those at CRC.
  • 52.5 African-American 19.1 White---20
    difference from other SAPs
  • Data from UCLA-DARC

20
  • A Morning Meeting During one of the Quarterly
    retreat workshops

21
Who are the men in the Amity TC?
  • 65.5 never married---higher than that of other
    SAPs
  • 63.3 not employed in the 30 days prior to
    incarcerationhigher than other SAPs
  • Heroin cited as the first, second, and third
    drug of choice---no other male SAP cites heroin
    as any of the the first three drugs of choice.
  • 16.1 identified on DSM-IV criteria as having no
    drug or alcohol dependencehigher than most SAPs

22
  • A Group in the Trailers

23
Who are the men in the Amity TC?
  • 16 report suicide attempts---higher than other
    SAPs
  • 14.2 years reported as age of first arrestlower
    than other SAPs
  • 21.2 lifetime arrestshigher than other SAPs
  • Number of felony convictions 5.2 higher than
    other SAPs
  • Number of years incarcerated 10.2 much higher
    than other SAPs
  • Number of violent felony convictions 2 higher
    than other SAPs
  • 38.9 most recent crime was a crime against a
    personmuch higher than other SAPs (CRC programs
    report 3-5).

24
  • Participants articulate their rationalizations
    for engaging in criminal, anti-social behavior as
    part of the curriculum.

25
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26
Unique Features
  • Amity Staff
  • Amity Curriculum
  • Quarterly intense retreats/workshops for
    participants
  • Quarterly Cross Trainings
  • Use of Ceremony
  • Use of peer mentors/workers
  • Focus on emotional safety, sanctuary

27
  • The Conclusion of our second retreatResistance,
    Resentment, Rationalization.

28
Challenges/Obstacles
  • Security Obstacles-building key relationships
  • Design of Trailers
  • Lockdowns
  • Rolling Blackouts
  • No dedicated housing unit
  • Level IV culture mens lengthy incarceration
  • Difficulty of obtaining staff
  • Two years with no CCIII PAII injured

29
TC Curriculum
  • All participants are involved in an
    comprehensive written curriculum developed by
    Naya Arbiter (Extensions, LLC) specifically for
    Amity, and specifically for incarcerated drug
    abusing offenders. Counselors are trained in the
    delivery of the curriculum.
  • The Curriculum is phased and involves encounter
    groups, workshops, seminars, video playback,
    psychodrama, written and oral exercises,
    post-release planning relationship training
    emotional intelligence and moral development
    exercises.
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