Rutherford CC to graduate first substance abuse treatment class

Michael F. Easley Governor		Theodis Beck Secretary
North Carolina Department of Correction

For Release: IMMEDIATE	Contact: Keith Acree
Date: Aug. 3, 2006	Phone: 919 -716-3700

Rutherford CC to graduate first substance abuse treatment class Graduation marks start of new substance abuse treatment curriculum SPINDALE – The first inmates to complete a new substance abuse treatment program at Rutherford Correctional Center will graduate this week. “This new program in Rutherford County will help us provide critical substance abuse treatment to even more inmates,” said Correction Secretary Theodis Beck. “Helping inmates overcome their substance abuse problems is one of the most important things we can do to help ensure their success after leaving prison.” The program is titled “A New Direction.” It is a cognitive-based treatment curriculum that the Department of Correction has been piloting for the past two years. This graduation marks the start of a permanent program using the curriculum. Over the next two to three years, the curriculum will replace DART (Drug Alcohol Recovery Treatment), as the Department of Correction’s main substance abuse treatment program. The new 90-day residential treatment program at Rutherford CC was made possible through legislative funding in 2005 that provided four employees and operating costs for a 34-bed program. The program can accommodate 32 inmates at a time, along with two inmate peer counselors who help operate the program. Substance abuse screening of newly admitted inmates shows roughly 65 percent of inmates entering prison need some form of substance abuse treatment. With the addition of the program at Rutherford, the Department of Correction has 1,451 residential substance abuse treatment beds to help offenders overcome their substance abuse problems. # # #