DRUG TREATMENT KEEPS YOUTHS OUT OF PRISON

Some 77 percent of those in prison are there because of drugs, but we
have no drug treatment programs in our prisons. But there is hope,
with the announcement of this area's first state-funded inpatient
chemical dependency treatment center for troubled teens.

Now there is help for these troubled teenagers before they end up
behind the walls at the David Wade Correctional Center at Homer. And
there are the monetary savings. For each dollar Louisiana puts into
alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs, it will reduce future
expenditures on crime and medical treatment by anywhere from $3.69 to
$5.19, research shows.

Paul Glanville

Shreveport