Center focuses on results not warehousing

EASTON - Out of the 73 current inmates in the Talbot County Department of Correction Detention Center, 87 percent of them have an addiction to either drugs and alcohol or both.

This is not an uncommon percentage for the detention center, and as a result corrections officials have designed and put programs in place to reduce these numbers and to hopefully reduce recidivism.

"We are partnering with similarly minded organization in the county to provide to common clientele," said Doug Devenyns, director of Talbot County Department of Corrections.

"Human beings are complex animals; one size doesn't fit all and cookie cutters suck." Devenyns said. "Their treatment and support they get should be tailored to them."

Many of the programs the detention center offers not only focus on addiction treatment but also on cognitive behavioral therapy, coping mechanisms and even repairing damaged relationship with loved ones.

Devenyns said that many jails have become social service organizations and he and his staff embrace that.

"When I interviewed for this position," Devenyns said, "I told them, ?If you want a director of human warehousing, I am not your person. But if you want a director of corrections, hire me.'"

He believes his purpose as director is to address the inmates' issues while they are incarcerated, and to return them to the community free of drugs and crime.

"We have actually enjoyed some successes," Devenyns said.

As part of the intake process, each new inmate undergoes a urinalysis, a process the detention center has been conducting since June 2015. This process affords the detention center a clear view of what the inmate may need in reference to a drug addiction program and or detoxification.

"For all intensive purposes, we have become a detox facility," Devenyns said. "We may not have intended to be a mental health facility or a detox facility, we just are."

Upon intake, the inmates are also informed of the various programs the detention center offers. Those programs are GED, STAR (Substance treatment and recovery), "Winning Parents," library, anger management, home detention,

work release, re-entry mediation, Women's Issues Program, alcoholic and narcotics anonymous, church, veterans re-entry services, knitting classes, "Moving On" women's program, IEP, chaplain (religious counseling), MRT (Moral Reconation Therapy), MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment), community service, and "Getting Ahead While Getting Out."

Devenyns said most inmates need around three months of incarceration before they reach a point of wanting help and recovery.

"Thats when they knock on Till-man's door." Devenyns said.

Devenyns is referring to Leone Tillman Jr., chief support services at the detention center.

"At that point, we decide which programs are appropriate for them," Tillman said. "They might want to do the GED program, but they might have a drug addiction."

Tillman said at that point they need to address the bigger issues first, and he will recommend the inmate try the STAR program first.

"But they have to want them," Tillman said.

Devenyns said humans are complexed individuals with a unique set of issues and problems and because of that there is no one specific program that is the "magic bullet."

"One person might have a wonderful education and chose not to capitalize on it, there are others that may not be able to read," Devenyns said. "But what we have here is variety of different services - we can literally pick and choose and find the right program or set of programs to help each individual."

One of the programs the detention center offers is Women's Issues Program. Currently they have 12 female inmates, and even though that is a small percentage of the detention center's population, Devynns said their issues are far more complex.

"Women tend to be more complicated than men," Devenyns said. "Virtually in all cases there is always unresolved trauma."

Devenyns said that, generally, women only make up 10 percent of any given jail population, but their issues are substantially greater. He said it is those issues that may have led them to an addiction and then to criminal behavior.

Another program that has been beneficial to the female incarcerated population is the knitting program. Devenyns said the knitting program is taught by a 70-year-old retired school teacher and nurse.

"They are learning a skill that requires concentration," Devenyns said. "It's quite beneficial - it requires them to focus, to pay attention."

He said the knitting program has helped the female inmates to work better together and to get along with one another more. Another aspect of the program is the inmates are able to make things for their families, particularly their children.

One of the necessary programs they offer is re-entry mediation. This program in an important aspect in the inmate's life, recovery and long term goals.

"Our re-entry mediation deals with family members," Devenyns said. "Reconnecting with family members, reconnecting those burned bridges and trying to mend those relationships before they leave."

"Often times with addicts the first person they victimize is their own family," Devenyns said. "They will steal from them, sell their things in order to get money to get drugs, and so on and so forth.

Devenyns said that this is where the re-entry mediation steps in and helps inmates have a safe and decent place to go when they get out. He said by definition virtually every single inmates is homeless when they leave the detention center.

"They have no lease, no place, no bed," Devenyns said. "They leave with nothing - they either go live with a friend or a family member or some other subsidized housing situation."

He said often times, because they have criminal history, they are not eligible for that subsidized housing.

"They have a tough row to hoe when they get out of here," Devenyns said.

Another beneficial program is Medication Assisted Treatment, MAT. This program works side by side with the Substance Treatment and Recovery program (STAR). While under the MAT program inmates receive medication known as Naltrexone. Naltrexone is the pill form of Vivitrol and is essentially more cost effective. Devenyns said with Vivitrol inmates receive one shot every 30 days that cost anywhere from $1,200 to $1,600, where a 30-day supply of Naltrexone is only $27.90.

He said most inmates suffer from poly-substance abuse problem, and Naltrexone helps with all of them, and helps to control the cravings associated with their drug addiction. Devenyns said inmates express that Naltrexone helps them to focus better on their counseling.

"We can start them on it six months prior to release and they can see the benefits of it," Devenyns said.

"Getting Ahead While Getting Out" is a program specifically focused on the challenges of reentry to the community. The detention center partners with the Department of Social Services to help inmates adjust.

"One of the biggest challenges when a person goes to leave and return to the community is clearly on-going treatment," Devenyns said. "Housing, employment, transportation and treatment - the four big ones."

"Lack of those basic needs can create a quick turn around back to here," Tillman said, "if those needs are not available."

Devenyns said they work to prepare inmates for release by making sure they are connected to social services, health insurance, possibly employment and housing.

"Before they get out we have appointments made for them," Devenyns said. "We try to prep them as best we can, so that the day they leave here they should be able to step out to a community based provider, be able to pay and step right into treatment."

Devenyns said that is where the detention center and the inmates hit a stumbling block. He said there is definite lag in aligning those services and often times it can take up to 30 days for a released inmate to receive counseling or other services once released.

"The idea would be to do a hot-hand-off. You're coming out of jail, you've been in treatment, you have been doing these programs, you've been in therapy, and through other programs here, now were going to hand you off to a community based provider," Devenyns said. "This is where we are fumbling."

The detention center recently received a grant that Devenyns hopes help to close that gap.

The Transitional Case Management Grant from the state of Maryland will begin on July 1. The detention center was able to obtain this grant with help and guidance from the Talbot County Health Department. The grant is going to provide funds for in-house addiction counseling services and a part-time transitional case manager.

Devenyns said the transitional case manager will help inmates make connections to services, appointments, counseling, housing and other basic needs.

"This might sound silly to everyday citizens, but when a person has been living the life of an addict - it's a kind of a confused life," Devenyns said. "They avoid a lot of responsibility - they don't do things that other adults normally do - so they don't make appointments, they don't know how to keep appointments, they don't know how to get from here to there, or work their way through a problem."

"They get out of here they get stressed, they relapse and then they use," said Tillman.

Devenyns said the ultimate goal is to create a smooth, supportive transition back to the community so that when the newly released individuals get triggered or stressed they not only have the tools, but they will have somebody they can call that can help them work through it.

"If we want to address the crime that goes with drug abuse, this is the population we need to focus on," Devenyns said. "Otherwise, these people are going to continue to commit breaking and entry, robberies and anything else they can do to get money to get drugs."

"We have seen over the years, after we have talked with them and worked with them through these programs this not how they want to be," Tillman said. "They truly don't want to live that way."

"This grant is a critical piece of the puzzle," Devenyns said. "The county's obligation to that inmate ceases at that front door, and now they are literally on their own we can no longer have them in custody therefore we have no obligation to provide services."

Devenyns believes the merry-go-round of inmates returning to the detention center has slowed down, but admits they do have some frequent flyers.

"You cant help but feel a sense of disappointment when they return," Devenyns said. "Because of the time that our staff has invested, the resources - these are valuable resources, high quality programs."

He said they have embraced the fact that they are now a social services-type organization, and he is convinced that these programs work.

"We are a significant part of the criminal justice system," Devenyns said. "We have a role to play beyond warehousing."

He said that citizens should demand the detention centers do something.

"The sheriff can do it, because his staff is out trying to prevent crime there is no other organization within the criminal justice system that is more appropriate than here," Devenyns said. "We have embraced that role and we take it seriously."

Devenyns said the detention center could not do this without the counties community based partners, social services, the health department, Mid-Shore Behavioral Health, Mid-Shore Mediation and their volunteers. He said partnering with similarly minded organizations in the county that tend to provide to the same clientele is beneficial to all parties.