STORY COUNTY JAIL MAY START DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT

The new Story County Jail may soon be offering people more than just time.
The Center for Addictions Recovery in Ames is seeking to provide substance
abuse treatment for inmates while they are still in jail.

"Eighty percent have a drug or alcohol problem," said David Sahr, the
retired executive director of the center.

The center is applying for a $75,000 Federal grant through the Iowa Office
of Drug Control Policy. Those funds will be matched with $10,000 from the
state and $15,000 from local sources through the ASSET (Analysis of Social
Services Evaluation Team) process. Sahr is in charge of applying for the grant.

"We see this ... as kind of an early start," Sheila Lundt, assistant to the
city manager, who deals with the ASSET funding process. Ames is largest
funder to the ASSET program, which presently provides funds to help the
center treat inmates after their release.

The federal funds will go to Story County, while the center will provide
services. The $25,000 in matching funds won't be new money, but will be
re-allocated, Sahr said.

The county will know by June if it gets the grant, which will go into
effect July 1.

"This idea came from the sheriff himself," Sahr said. Story County Sheriff
Paul Fitzgerald said the chance to treat inmates before they're released is
one of the "nice things about the new jail."

A large increase in the jail population has several factors - including new
tough-on-crime laws and drug problems.

Story County had 35 inmates seven years ago, and is up to 94 today,
Fitzgerald said. "Methamphetamine has just gone out of control, and we're
dealing with that every day," he said.

Fitzgerald said the biggest problem with inmates is recidivism - inmates
who just keep coming back and back. Drug and alcohol problems are a major
factor in that, he said.

Other new programs at the jail will help inmates manage life skills, such
as filling out job applications and how to use a keyboard, Fitzgerald said.