|
"Illinois is a national leader in fighting drugs, crime and helping
addicts turn their lives around," Blagojevich said. "Meth is one of
the most destructive drugs plaguing our communities. Our Meth Prison
and Reentry Initiative at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center
will focus on the very specific challenges facing people addicted to
meth, so they can return to their families and communities and lead
productive crime- and drug-free lives." The governor announced
last week that the Department of Corrections officially chose a
group of partners and community-based providers to help build a new,
cutting-edge model for reducing crime among meth-involved offenders.
Under the Meth Prison Initiative, hundreds of inmates at
Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center will undergo a newly
developed, highly intensive drug treatment and community re-entry
program to combat meth addiction and reduce crime.
The Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of
Human Services joined national and statewide partners to observe
National Meth Awareness Day with a planning and strategy session at
the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center, where they will
continue developing the initiative and exploring successful new ways
of treating meth offenders in the program.
Dr. Bertha Madras, deputy director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, spoke in recognition of Illinois'
efforts and National Meth Awareness Day.
"It is my great honor and privilege to officially observe the
first-ever National Methamphetamine Awareness Day here in East St.
Louis, Illinois," Madras said. "The White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy appreciates the dedication of the state of
Illinois and the hard work of the Illinois Department of Corrections
in combating the deadly scourge of methamphetamine abuse. Meth is a
serious and highly toxic drug that adversely affects countless
American lives and devastates numerous communities. However, the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- along with our
friends and partners, such as the state of Illinois and the
Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center -- are making progress
against meth. Nationally, we have witnessed a 35 percent decrease in
youth meth use in the last four years through the implementation of
our balanced strategy of prevention, treatment and enforcement. The
state of Illinois is a major part of that successful story, and it
is my pleasure to officially recognize their achievements against
meth abuse on National Methamphetamine Awareness Day."
The governor's meth prison initiative includes creating two meth
units, one at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center and one at
Sheridan Correctional Center in LaSalle County. In fiscal 2007, the
governor will create a 200-bed meth unit at the 667-bed Southwestern
Illinois Correctional Center and make the entire prison another
fully dedicated drug prison and re-entry program in the model of
Sheridan. In fiscal 2008, the governor will expand the Sheridan
Correctional Center from 950 offenders to its full capacity of 1,300
offenders, with 200 of those spaces to be used for another meth
unit. As with the current Sheridan model, inmates in both programs
will access intensive prison-based drug treatment programs,
vocational training, job preparation and mental health services; and
upon completion of their sentence, their treatment will continue
under a highly supervised transition back to their communities. The
Southwestern program is being supported through $1.9 million in
state funding and $4.78 million in federal funding.
With this initiative, the governor has charged our department
with finding new and more effective ways to reduce repeat crime
among meth offenders in the prison system, and we are making
tremendous progress in meeting this challenge with the first-rate
partners we have brought on board in recent weeks," said Walker, the
Department of Corrections director. "This program gives IDOC the
opportunity to continue our efforts, similar to the Sheridan
project, to develop new and innovative ways to address the impact of
drugs on crime and recidivism, especially regarding the meth crisis
that plagues so many communities in central and southern Illinois."
Through the Sheridan project, the model established in Illinois
is a comprehensive one that focuses on several criminogenic factors
by including drug treatment, education and job training, mental
health, family reunification, and full re-entry services that are
managed by a parole agent and re-entry team. The project has reduced
recidivism of the participants by more than 40 percent better than a
comparison group.
"The treatment program at Southwestern prison helps drug
offenders recover from their addictions and break the cycle of
drugs, crime and poverty," said Department of Human Services
Secretary Carol Adams. "Inmates at Southwestern will participate in
integrated programs including drug treatment, vocational training,
education and closely supervised community re-entry. This approach
to treatment gives the recovering person the best chance of
success."
The program at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center will be
led by CiviGenics, the nation's largest correctional treatment
company, and will be a national model for therapeutic interventions
with this ever-growing segment of the inmate population. There are
many myths about methamphetamine, one of which is that no effective
treatment for meth addicts exists. Another widely circulated notion
has it that once the habit is acquired, the prognosis for
methamphetamine users is near hopeless. While this is demonstrably
false, it is true that methamphetamine poses some unique treatment
challenges that require unique solutions.
"When responding to the governor's charge to reach out across the
state and the nation to seek model programs for reducing crime among
meth offenders, we learned that there were no recognized model
programs for meth offenders," said Deanne Benos, assistant director
of the Department of Corrections. "This has become an exciting
challenge for our team here in Illinois. We found that the only
nationally recognized meth treatment program is the Matrix Model in
California, and it is an entirely community-based model. Therefore,
our team has reached out and brought the creator of that model, Dr.
Rawson, to our design team."
[to top of second column] |
"Illinois' public safety and law enforcement agencies have taken a
national lead in developing systemic responses to the unrelenting
epidemic of methamphetamines," said Roy Ross, CiviGenics president
and chief executive officer. "The strides in interdiction,
apprehension, adjudication and incarceration have been impressive.
Now, with the inauguration of a dedicated meth unit at SWICC, the
treatment community is contributing innovative strategies of its own
that will turn the tide of this fearsome and devastating addiction.
CiviGenics can think of no abler partner than IDOC, nor any better
venue than SWICC -- an institution wholly devoted to drug treatment
-- to help assure positive outcomes and to set the pace for future
'best practice.'"
To ensure that this initiative emerges as a best practice model for
future programs for the meth-offender population, the Department of
Corrections and CiviGenics have retained Dr. Richard Rawson of UCLA
and Dr. Kevin Knight of Texas Christian University to lend expert
guidance in the processes of clinician training, quality assurance
and outcomes measurement.
Rawson is the primary developer of the Matrix Model and is one of
the most renowned researchers in the field of methamphetamine
addiction. As a professor with Department of Psychiatry and
Biobehavioral Sciences and as associate director of UCLA's
prestigious Integrated Substance Abuse Program, Rawson oversees a
portfolio of addiction research ranging from brain imaging studies
to clinical trials on pharmacological and psychosocial addiction
treatments. Knight, as a chief research scientist with the Institute
of Behavioral Research, is recognized as a national leader in the
development of metrics for therapeutic best practice in correctional
settings.
 What distinguishes the program at Sheridan and
Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center from other programs is
that it has an extensive focus on community safety and also includes
funding for the most highly supervised and supported re-entry
program in state history. CiviGenics will provide the prison-based
drug treatment and is developing the model meth program. Safer
Foundation is providing the prison-based and post-release job
preparation and placement programming. Treatment Alternatives for
Safe Communities is providing the prison-based and community
clinical case management. The Community Support and
Advisory Council system will work with re-entering
offenders into their neighborhoods.
"In addition, we have found many dedicated community leaders,
particularly from central and southern Illinois, where Meth has hit
the hardest, who have offered their suggestions based upon their
extensive experience with this population," Walker said. "Together,
we look forward to establishing a new model to curtail the meth
crisis that has devastated so many communities throughout our state
and the nation."
Meth has become a growing crisis in Illinois, with related prison
admissions rising from only six in fiscal 1999 to 421 in fiscal
2004. The current prison population for meth offenders is more than
800, with countless others in prison who are believed to have
committed their offense while under the influence of the drug.
To raise awareness about the problem of meth and what his
administration is doing to address it, the governor proclaimed Nov.
30 as Meth Prevention Day. The text of the proclamation follows:
WHEREAS,
methamphetamine, or meth, is one of the biggest threats to our rural
communities and the families who live in them; and
WHEREAS, meth is a
powerful stimulant that affects the central nervous system, and is
derived from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, commonly used in cold
medicine; and
WHEREAS, chronic
abuse of meth can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by
intense paranoia, hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can
be coupled with extremely violent behavior; and
WHEREAS, the
Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) reports that approximately
800 offenders in the Department have been incarcerated for meth-related
crimes; and
WHEREAS, in FY04,
Illinois had 490 inmates in prison for meth-related offenses. In
FY05, that number jumped to 541 meth-related inmates. Many more
inmates may be currently incarcerated for violent or property crimes
that were related to a meth addiction; and
WHEREAS, over two
years, my administration will create two Meth Units, one at
Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center (SWICC) and one at
Sheridan. This year, we will create a 200 bed Meth Unit at the 667
bed Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center and make the entire
prison another fully dedicated drug prison and reentry program in
the model of Sheridan. Next year, we will expand the Sheridan
Correctional Center from 950 offenders to its full capacity of 1300
offenders, with 200 of those spaces to be used for another Meth
Unit; and
WHEREAS, my
administration has charged the IDOC to develop a cutting-edge new
model for the nation that will reduce recidivism among meth-addicted
offenders, and will be launched at SWICC and then added to Sheridan;
and
WHEREAS, inmates at
Southwestern and Sheridan will participate in integrated programs
including drug treatment, vocational training, education, and
closely supervised community reentry; and
WHEREAS, in order
to break the cycle of crime and addiction, these Meth Units will
enable meth-addicted prisoners to receive treatment, counseling, and
job training. Thus, these prisoners will have a better chance of
leaving prison without the drug addiction that threatens their lives
and our communities:
THEREFORE, I, Rod
R. Blagojevich, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby
proclaim November 30, 2006 as METH PREVENTION DAY in Illinois.
[News release from the governor's office] |
