PRISON TREATMENT PLANS KEEP CRIMINALS CLEAN

AUSTIN Texas prison treatment programs are helping more convicted sex
offenders and drug abusers change their ways and stay out of prison,
according to a report released Monday by the Criminal Justice Policy Council.

The study shows that 24 percent of convicts who completed the 18-month Sex
Offender Treatment Program were back in prison two years after their
release, less than the 29 percent who didn't complete the program. About 24
percent of non-participants were arrested for a new offense after two
years, compared to the 13 percent of participants who were arrested.

"You're increasing public safety by being able to help offenders," said
Tony Fabelo, executive director of the council, which has evaluated justice
trends and policies for the governor and the Legislature since the early 1990s.

A spokeswoman for the governor and a spokesman for the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice said they had not seen the report.

The state spends $43 million on 17 units that provide rehabilitation
programs. Compared to other populous states, Texas has one of the lowest
recidivism rates. In 1995, Texas' two-year rate was about 24 percent,
compared to California's 56 percent.

For Monday's study, the council tracked how well treatment programs work by
measuring how many participants were incarcerated again two years after
their release in 1997-1998.

Substance abuse programs show mixed results.

The In-Prison Therapeutic Community program, an intensive nine-month
program followed by about a year of community treatment, has shown
improvement. Of those who participated in 1998, 13 percent returned to
prison after two years, compared to 28 percent who returned after
participating in 1993.

The improvement is due to changes in how participants are selected and to
increased use of parole intermediate sanction facilities, which hold
convicts who violate technical probation rules, not drug laws, Fabelo said.