Starke County may soon be home to a drug treatment program that is currently only available through the state Department of Corrections.
The Therapeutic Community Program is considered by some to be one of the most effective drug treatment programs in the state of Indiana. The program provides 1,700 available spaces throughout the Hoosier state for an eight month course, designed to treat and rehabilitate drug offenders.
Some inmates may take longer than eight months to complete the program, but according to the DOC, those enrolled are held to high levels of accountability.
Months of meetings have taken place in Indianapolis between officials working out of Starke county and the state that, with any luck, may result in the first non-DOC Therapeutic Community Program in the state being offered in Starke County. The program is anticipated to run out the newly constructed Justice Center under the current proposal.
Starke County Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall had an opportunity late last week to present on the topic. The Governor’s Drug Task Force held a meeting in South Bend on Thursday to review Starke County’s ideas on the matter.
Should those efforts be successful, the county could see the reduced cost associated with inmates serving reduced prison sentences, but also see a potential financial boost of up to $600-thousand annually and funded by the Department of Corrections.
