Department of Correction unveils new recovery program

Delaware Department of Correction recently unveiled a redesigned drug treatment program that institutes a therapeutic, community-based treatment model designed to break the cycle of addiction within the inmate population. 

Commissioner Claire DeMatteis said the new program, called Road 2 Recovery, is a restructuring of what she called a once progressive, but now outdated program. The former Key and Crest programs have been largely the same for 20 years.  

“Our treatment programs needed to reflect the unique needs of the current opioid, heroin and other dangerous drug addictions that are tearing families apart and fueling drug wars, gun crimes, and gang violence," DeMatteis said.

The new program, unveiled at an Oct. 22 press conference at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown, includes a comprehensive assessment, drug screen and clinical review to identify individuals who need treatment. DeMatteis said those identified will be placed on one of three tracks: Track 1 has 30 to 35 hours of structured treatment per week for nine to 12 months for Level 5 offenders – inmates serving long prison sentences – and 25 to 30 hours per week for six to nine months for Level 4 offenders, who are serving shorter sentences. Track 2 has nine to 15 hours of treatment per week for four to six months for both levels 4 and 5, and Track 3 offers fewer than nine structured hours per week for three to six months. 

“What will typically happen is a Level 5 offender will flow down to Level 4, meaning they will get treatment at Level 5 and Level 4, and then to work release,” DeMatteis said.

She said the Department of Correction has worked with the Delaware judiciary to allow for the department to have discretion over what track an offender will get.

“What was happening over the years is judges would sentence John Smith to drug treatment, and we’d have to go back every single time and ask the judge to revise the sentencing order. Why would we keep doing that?” DeMatteis said.

Now, she said, judges have agreed to allow the department to have discretion as to what level of treatment an offender will get, so each would-be participant can be evaluated to determine which track that offender should be on. 

DeMatteis said participants will be guided by an individualized treatment plan based on the offender’s specific needs, which will be identified through an assessment process. Those in treatment will be in a community-based program where offenders are together in a dorm-style setting. 

“Offenders who are assigned to that housing unit go to counseling together, talk through their addiction issues, eat together, rec together and sleep in the same building. It’s a group-based therapy, much like you would see on the outside,” she said.

Treatment participants will take part in new curriculums, such as keeping journals and taking electives dealing with trauma, co-occurring disorders, anger management and healthy relationships. DeMatteis said these programs are intended to get at the reasons why someone might abuse drugs or alcohol. Participants will be given benchmarks to help demonstrate their progress through the program, and receive ongoing assessments. Finally, DeMatteis said the program gives the department a uniform treatment program option that can be used at all state-run correctional facilities.

She said the program’s success will be measured by how inmates progress through the system.

“The opportunity is going to be there for them to get off the drug addiction. The ultimate way to know if it's truly effective is if we see a decline in recidivism,” DeMatteis said.

One of the early champions of correctional drug treatment, and someone who helped shepherd treatment programs into Delaware’s prisons, was former Commissioner Stan Taylor, and to celebrate his role in that, the drug treatment building at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown was renamed as the Stan Taylor Building. 

Taylor said one of the initial purposes behind having substance abuse treatment in a separate facility was a practical one.

“All of that was to initially get offenders off the floor. We had receiving rooms designed for 12 holding 30. People were under beds, laying by the urinal. It was a difficult environment for them and the staff,” Taylor said.

In addition, Taylor said research at the time indicated an 85 percent correlation between substance abuse and incarceration. He said drug treatment programs were effective at treating prisoners on the inside, but prison officials were finding that once those prisoners were released, they were sliding back into addiction because they did not have the same structure on the outside. Taylor said that’s when they came up with the Crest program, which provided further care for prisoners on probation or parole. 

“The ultimate goal was to make Delaware safer,” Taylor said. “I really appreciate that it seems to have made a difference.”