DRUG TREATMENT CENTER'S INTENSIVE PROGRAM BECOMES JAIL ALTERNATIVE

Three years ago Larry Bullard was facing his ninth felony drug conviction
and a $500-a-day methamphetamine addiction.

But instead of sentencing him to prison, a Dallas judge sent him to
Cenikor, a drug treatment center in Fort Worth. Now Mr. Bullard is working
on his counseling degree and has reunited with his ex-wife, who had left
him because of his drug problems.

On Saturday, he will graduate from Cenikor's intensive 2 1/2-year
rehabilitation program.

"Sitting in that room 30 months ago, there was no way I could imagine my
life being as good as it is," he said. " I couldn't imagine being as happy
as I am. All I wanted to do was be clean."

Mr. Bullard is one of about 150 residents at Cenikor, and he's among five
graduating this week. Since Cenikor opened its Fort Worth facility in 1978
inside a donated Winn Dixie building, there have been about 400 graduates.

Although residents can check in voluntarily, many are sent to the program
by judges. About 60 percent of the residents referred by judges come from
Dallas County courts, and about 45 percent of all residents are Dallas addicts.

The first Cenikor home was started in Colorado more than 35 years ago by
prison inmates who wanted to stop using drugs and then help others do the same.

There are Cenikor facilities in Lakewood, Colo., Deer Park, Texas, and
Baton Rouge, La. Cenikor's headquarters is in Houston.

Judge Dean of the 265th District Court in Dallas sends drug offenders to
Cenikor and believes in its effectiveness.

"It's been very successful for me," he said. "It has a reputation of being
so hard that nobody completes it, and that's not true. It's kind of like
the Marine Corps of drug treatment programs. They just keep after you."

He said the program is most successful for long-term users.

"Cenikor works best, in my experience, when a person's at the point in
their life when they're just tired, when they say, 'I've got to do
something,' " Judge Dean said. "You realize, 'I just can't keep living this
life.' "

A study of Cenikor's program showed a recidivism rate of about 6 percent
among graduates. Medical professionals say that a less than 10 percent
recidivism rate is rare for drug treatment programs.

"That is very low," Greg Bateson, substance abuse prevention /health
education coordinator for the University of Texas at Arlington, said of
Cenikor's recidivism rate. He said that with most 28-day treatment
facilities, it's not uncommon to see 90 percent relapse.

Even those who didn't graduate from Cenikor's program showed benefits, said
Dr. Marianne Marcus, an addiction professor at the University of Texas
Health Science Center at the Houston School of Nursing, which conducted the
study.

"I think the bottom line of all this is even if they spent at least a year
in the program, they had really direct benefits in terms of reduced drug
use, reduced criminal behavior, even down to nothing," Dr. Marcus said.

There's no cost for the treatment, but residents work to support the
program. Cenikor has a landscaping business and contracts out crews to work
on jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, said David Sandefur, who works for
Cenikor.

Before residents can graduate they must have at least a GED, a job, $1,500
saved, a place to stay and transportation, he said.

Although there are curfews and rules, Cenikor doesn't lock residents in the
facility. Residents sent by judges could face jail time if they leave, however.

"It's an open door," said Gary Romero, 23, of Albuquerque, N.M. " When I
got here, it was really hard because I knew I could leave, but that isn't
going to help me. I'm just going to go back out there the same way I was.
Here it's your own choice to change."

Others find the program too rigorous.

Richard Rockett, 37, of St. Louis checked himself into the program, but he
was enrolled less than 20 days before heading home. He said he checked into
Cenikor because several short-term programs had not helped him beat his
seven-year crack addiction.

One of the key factors in Cenikor's success, residents say, is that their
role models are former addicts. Mr. Sandefur said that about 90 percent of
Cenikor's staff members are graduates.

"I watch staff, and lots and lots of them graduated from the program, and I
see them living normal lives," said Eleen Ruffin, 42, of Dallas, who
battled alcoholism for 28 years before going to Cenikor. She is among those
who will graduate from the program this week.