Substance Abuse Program

DRUG & ALCOHOL COUNSELING

BOONE COUNTY COURTS’ JAIL-BASED ALCOHOL & DRUG INTERVENTION PROGRAM

The Boone County Jail provides an Alcohol and Drug Intervention program for male and female inmates that submit a written request for the program. The program is provided through a contract between Pro-Active Resources and the three Boone County Courts and is funded primarily through the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC).

The Superior Court II Judge, the Honorable Bruce Petit, is the supervising Judge; Christina Candia of the Boone County Probation and Community Correction Department is the liaison between the Courts and Pro-Active Resources’ Executive Director, Martin Berg.

The Program consists of ten hours of group therapy for the Men’s Program for the men in cellblock F and eight hours of group therapy for the Women’s Program located in C Block; two of the eight hours are donated by Pro-Active Resources.

Approximately five (or more) hours are dedicated to casework, report writing, arranging for referrals to halfway houses, group preparation, and individual counseling.

Additionally, Pro-Active Resources donates 1-2 hours of group therapy and education services to the men in Phases I & III each week. Cellblock F houses all three Phases of the Program, which comprises men who are on the waiting list for the actual program (Phase I) men who are participating in the actual 60-day Program (Phase II), and for men who have successfully completed the program and are still in the Boone County Jail (Phase III).

The admission procedure is as follows:

The inmate submits a written request to the counselor of the appropriate group. The group interviews all prospective members and votes them in or out. Generally, most are voted in unless the group has sound reasons to not accept someone.

The group therapist conducts an evaluation with each new participant

After the request is received, women are usually admitted to Phase I within one to three days because there is rarely a waiting list for the women.
After a request is received, men are transferred to F-block and are placed on a waiting list until it is their turn to be voted into Phase II.
Both then Men and Women’s Phase II of the Program are a minimum of sixty days. However, the counselor may, in some instances, extend the individual’s program for clinical reasons.
If an individual bonds out prior to completion of the program, he/she is not allowed back in the program for six months.
If an individual violates a jail or program rule, he/she may be removed from the program for two weeks, possibly indefinitely. The group may vote a member out for violation of jail or program rules.

After release from the Boone County Jail, some successful graduates are able to attend an Aftercare group that takes place at the Boone County Probation Department. There is a separate group for the men and women. This program is a minimum of 16 sessions; however, many individuals continue to attend beyond the requirement. Other graduates voluntarily choose to live in an approved halfway facility for 3 to 12 months, sometime longer.

A very important part of the jail program is attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, conducted by volunteer members of AA. The men’s AA meeting is on Monday nights and the women’s AA meeting is on Thursday nights. All of the men in F-block and the women in C-block are required to attend all AA meetings as part of the program. People in other cellblocks are not invited to attend these meetings. Additionally, the participants conduct AA and NA meetings, as well as book study groups in the evenings in both F- and C-blocks.

Currently, Brandon George, Dennis Bender, and Jim Beitman facilitate the Men’s Group. June Mikels and Jennifer Kincaid-Shores conduct the Women’s Group.

In 2017, there were 20 admissions to the female drug program, with 16 successful completions. There were 93 admissions to the male drug program, with 75 successful completions.