DRUG ABUSE PROGRAM GETS NEW FUNDING

The Saskatchewan government is contributing $225,000 to continue
developing an in-facility substance abuse treatment program at
provincial jails.

The current funding will go toward staffing costs and further
development of a treatment unit for a pilot program being run out of
the Regina Correctional Centre, said Corrections, Public Safety and
Policing Minister Darryl Hickie.

The addictions treatment unit started offering full programming early
in April, with eligible inmates having been moved to the unit to take
part in the 28-day treatment schedule, manned by specially trained
staff. While the number of inmates currently taking part -- and
expected to participate as the program evolves -- was not immediately
known, Hickie said it's clear the need is great.

"We have a very high rate of substance abuse self-disclosed by the
offenders that get sentenced," he said. "(It) ranges from 80 to 93 per
cent, in fact, based on 80 per cent of our offenders in secure custody
admitting to having substance abuse issues and 93 per cent in the
general population admitting to it. We also relate that there's a
direct correlation between substance abuse and their offending
behaviour. So addictions counselling alone, they recognized, wasn't
enough."

While basic addictions counselling will continue to be available for
inmates, the treatment unit will provide a more intensive option for
some.

"The staff members here are more trained in a lot of the motivational
kind of concepts and there's members from the health regions that are
going to be brought in as well to talk more detail in addictions and
those kinds of things ... and tying it in with one-on-one counselling
inside of the unit as well," Hickie explained.

Participants will be chosen based both on their desire to take part
and a recommendation from their case worker.

Currently, those taking part are prisoners near the ends of their
sentences, hopefully enabling them to better prepare for release.

Once they are released, officials studying the program will follow up
with the former participants to see whether it's helped.

"Eventually, this program will also be utilized upon admission, if
inmates in fact are going through substance abuse withdrawal and they
aren't ready to get involved in their case plan yet because there's
this hurdle in place right now," Hickie said.

"We want to be able to plug them into the program as well to be able
to give them that step up so they can get into other additional
programming to get them ready to go into the community as their
sentence expires."

The pilot program will be made available to inmates in Regina, as well
as inmates from other provincial jails who can apply to participate
here. Similar substance abuse units are planned for correctional
centres in Saskatoon and Prince Albert, Hickie said, although the
addition of those units will depend on how Regina's pilot program does.

He explained Regina's jail was selected for the pilot since there is
"a good living unit design already in place" and also because the
ministry and experts working with the ministry are able to personally
keep an eye on how the program unfolds.