ADDICTS FIND TIME TO THINK

Keelyn Mountain shines his boots Saturday while other inmates rest or read
their handbooks during a rest period at the Charles E. Bill Johnson
Correctional Center in Alva.

Below: Cass Downey shaves the head of George Skitt at the Charles E. Bill
Johnson Correctional Center in Alva.

Bottom: Hubert Butler studies his inmate handbook at the Charles E. Bill
Johnson Correctional Center in Alva on Saturday. Inmates follow a regimen
that requires them to memorize large portions of their handbooks. Photos by
DAVID CRENSHAW / Tulsa World

DOC program focuses on `here and now'

ALVA -- The Charles E. Bill Johnson Correctional Center is home to one of
the Oklahoma Department of Corrections' top drug and alcohol addiction
programs.

Set on flat farmland in northwestern Oklahoma, the three-phase program
takes 12 to 15 months to complete, said Janet Dowling, warden's assistant.

Officials selected the Alva facility for the program in part due to the
large outpouring of community support, said Janice Melton, warden.

"We want the community to be supportive," Melton said. "They appreciate the
fact this is not a traditional prison."

The prison employs about 125 people and has a budget of about $5.4 million.

Before setting up the program in 1995, officials looked at others across
the country and decided to take a cognitive treatment approach that
incorporates elements of the medical approach to drug and alcohol addiction
treatment.

The cognitive approach focuses on behavior, consequences and
accountability, Melton said. The medical component focuses on treatment of
a disease and how to cope with it.

"We don't ignore the medical model, but we focus on the here and now,"
Melton said. "There may be issues in life they need to deal with, but don't
let them be excuses."

About 45 percent to 50 percent of the offenders in the program were ordered
there by the court.

The targeted population is males 18 to 35 years old, but the program has
accepted both younger and older inmates, Dowling said. The bulk of the
offenders in the program, about 30 percent, are between 21 and 25 years old.

The program does not take sex offenders or those convicted of first-degree
murder.

With a recidivism rate of about 11 percent, the program tries to target
inmates who are near the end of their sentences so that what is taught
sticks once an inmate is discharged, Dowling said.

Getting in shape: The first phase of the program has a boot camp structure,
where inmates participate in marching, drills and physical exercise.

"It is a high-structured phase," Dowling said. "It is very regimented.
These guys are new to the facility with the least amount of privileges."

Drug abusers typically aren't in great physical condition. Dowling said the
first phase helps inmates get in shape so they can prepare and finish the
remainder of the program.

It also teaches the inmates, who are called "trainees," to work as a group
and follow rules, Dowling said.

Inmates participate in classes such as anger management and how to live
without a crutch in their lives, Dowling said.

Correctional officer Dennis Kilmer is a drill instructor who took a
two-week course at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

After morning activities that include marching and exercise, inmates clean
the facility and their personal quarters, Kilmer said. The inmates are in a
dorm-style metal building where they have a bed and foot locker for
personal effects and clothing.

Looking over to a corner of the facility, Kilmer pointed out two inmates
wearing orange vests. He calls them the "motivational squad."

"They are trainees who had a hard time adapting or who don't know they want
to be here yet," Kilmer said. "We give them special things to do, such as
extra ironing or more cleaning."

There are no televisions. Inmates have very few personal belongings at this
stage in the program. All have very short hair or no hair at all.

They gradually earn privileges and move into the next phase of the program,
which involves treatment.

Decision to change: Inmates in the second phase bunk upstairs. A sign on
the wall reads, "Discipline is the immediate, spontaneous response to an
order."

Kelsey Welch, 21, of Bixby was under the influence of alcohol when he was
caught with a firearm while committing a felony.

He dropped out of high school but now is waiting for the results of his GED
test. He is also looking forward to a future.

Welch said he wasn't raised with a lot of discipline in his life, something
that has now changed.

When he first came into the program, he had a chip on his shoulder, Welch said.

Romero Generals, 24, is serving 25 years out of Oklahoma County on a number
of charges, including possession with intent to distribute.

He has already finished the program but stayed at the facility to help
other inmates.

"With an addiction, there is no way to have a happy life," Generals said.

He said it was hearing about the impact that the crack cocaine he once sold
had on other people that prompted his decision to change. When he gets out,
he realizes he will have to change friends and places he used to go in
order to avoid relapse.

Family support is very important, said Generals, who has four children.

"People relapse when they feel lonely," Generals said.

He said some inmates participate in "gaming" or faking their way through
the program. But he takes his recovery seriously.

"If I go in again, I'm not going to come out," Generals said.

Time to think: Rick Kornele is a case manager for second phase
participants, who take courses such as substance abuse training and relapse
prevention.

Before inmates leave phase two, they must participate in an exit interview,
where staff evaluate a program written by the inmate detailing their
budget, job, rent and leisure time expenses. Inmates are asked about their
relapse plan and things they learned in the program, Kornele said.

He said other programs haven't been rated as high because "you can't get
anything accomplished in six months."

A program that is at least a year long gives inmates time to dry out and
think, Kornele said.

"We don't let them blame society for their own problems," Kornele said.
"They have never had to step back and look back at themselves to find that
they caused most of their own problems."

Preparing for the outside: The third phase of the program is known as
aftercare. The facility has two case managers who keep in contact with
inmates who have completed the program and been discharged to the street or
a lower security facility, Dowling said.

The case managers provide referrals such as job contacts or group programs
and are an ear for inmates who may be considering relapsing.

Melton said the most difficult aspect of the program is getting family
members involved. Alva is not centrally located to Tulsa or Oklahoma City,
where many inmates come from.

"We want to catch them before they hit bottom again," Melton said.