DRUG REHAB AT JAIL

City Should Find Funds To Continue Program

The non-profit Hope Center operates a drug-rehabilitation program at the
Fayette County jail that needs $175,000 to stay open for another year.

The Urban County Council should find the money to help. The state has
allocated $57,000 for the program, but it can be awarded only if the city
government matches it. A council committee is scheduled to consider that
contribution next month.

At less than three years old, it's too early to deem the drug-treatment
program an unqualified success.

However, Fayette Circuit Judge Sheila Isaac told the Herald-Leader in 2004
that prisoners have asked for more time in jail just to complete the
program. She also has required completion of the program as a condition of
release.

As of July 1, the Hope Center, which primarily runs programs for the
homeless, stopped taking new jail clients. All service will end by Sept. 30
unless the money can be found.

The program, which helps turn addicts into people who contribute to the
community, is a worthwhile investment in the well-being of Lexington.

Addiction not only leads to crime but also to unemployment and
homelessness, creating a greater strain on public resources. So it seems
prudent to invest some money on the front end.

Jails and prisons have increasingly become warehouses of criminals who have
little chance at rehabilitation. Inmates get out of jail and relapse into
the lifestyles that put them in jail in the first place. With the rehab
program, the jail stops being just another revolving door.

Making a real impact requires more than a nickel-and-dime approach to the
program. The Hope Center and state and city officials should work together
to find multi-year funding for the program so its impact can be adequately
evaluated.

If $175,000 a year helps repair lives and makes Lexington a safer
community, it's a bargain price.